By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
CORPUS CHRISTI — The same consistent hitting that got Los Fresnos to its first regional semifinal came around to end the Lady Falcons’ historic season.
No. 4 Los Fresnos was defeated by No. 5 Austin Bowie twice Saturday at Cabaniss Athletic Complex in Corpus Christi to close out their Class 6A Sweet 16 series. The Bowie Lady Bulldogs used 17 hits to take Game 2 14-4 and 14 hits to get a 12-7 victory in the rubber match to advance to the regional final.
“We went home last night, we re-evaluated our situation and we didn’t count ourselves out,” Bowie coach Liz Wissel said. “We knew what was at stake, and we knew what we had to do. … It feels amazing. This was a true team effort. … As long as we keep playing Bowie softball, we should keep going.”
The Lady Falcons didn’t go down without a fight. Bowie took an early 3-0 lead in Game 2 on three hits and an error during the top of the first. Los Fresnos pitcher Katelynn Perez got the home half of the frame started with a leadoff home run to left field.
As has been their custom through the postseason, the Lady Falcons followed the first long ball with another to cut Bowie’s lead to 3-2. Aileen Avelar, who split time at shortstop and in the circle, sent the ball high into the overcast sky and over the fence for a solo home run in the second.
The Lady Falcons capitalized on three walks and an error at shortstop to score two runs in the third, but Bowie still held a 6-4 advantage. Jada Scott took the circle in relief of Bowie starting pitcher Emma Solis and kept Los Fresnos off the board in the final three innings of Game 2. Los Fresnos put a lot of balls in play, but only two hits fell.
“We had good hits, they were just falling right into their gloves and they weren’t hitting gaps. (Bowie’s) hits were hitting the gaps. At the end of the day, their balls hit the ground and ours didn’t,” Los Fresnos catcher Sam Campos said.
Bowie exploded to hit through the lineup during the fourth and score four runs. It added two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to enforce the run-rule victory in Game 2. The Lady Bulldogs duplicated that big fourth inning in the deciding third game, sending 15 batters to the plate and scoring nine runs to build a lead Los Fresnos couldn’t erase.
“We like to have an inning, we call it a ‘Bowie Inning,’ and that’s just it. When one gets hot, we all get hot. It’s like a string of fire. Today, we got it, we felt that momentum and it made the difference,” Wissel said.
The Lady Falcons responded after falling behind early in Game 3 and hit well off Solis, just like they did in the previous two games. Los Fresnos put up a 3-spot during the second and third innings to take a 6-2 advantage after three thanks to aggressive baserunning.
Following a single to left by Teresa Villa, Kayla Jimenez slid under a tag at home to get Los Fresnos on the board. Sofie Varela drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to left, and two Lady Falcons slid safely into home after an errant throw.
Victoria Altamirano and Campos knocked back-to-back singles to start the third, and being active on the basepaths brought them home. Altamirano scored on a wild pitch after swiping third base. Campos showcased her speed to score on the same sequence after a bad throw by the catcher.
“We talked to them about not giving up. They came out swinging (in Game 3), and I really thought, ‘Hey, this is going to happen for us,’” Blackman said. “It makes me sad because they fought so hard. All season long, they have fought and they have worked. It’s amazing to even be here … and I’m humbled to be here.”
Bowie’s nine-run fourth might have caused another team to throw in the towel, but that didn’t happen for Los Fresnos. Campos, one of three seniors in the starting lineup, sparked a fire in her team the best way the Lady Falcons know how. On the first pitch she saw from Scott in the fifth, she blasted the final home run of her high school career to left-center.
“I saw the pitcher was throwing first pitch down the middle, and I was, like, ‘Sam, you’re going to crank it if it goes right down the middle.’ And I did, and I’m happy. It boosted my team up,” Campos said. “I’m amazed at how our season turned out. … It would’ve been great to go to the fifth round, but we came to the fourth round and that’s a long way, and I’m super proud of my team.”
Though it had a heartbreaking end, Blackman believes this magical season will push the program further. Los Fresnos returns an abundance of talent, including a pair of impressive sophomores in Perez and lights-out center fielder Villa — who made two spectacular catches in the series — and looks poised to be a powerhouse again next season.
“(The message is) build off of what we’ve got going here,” Blackman said. “To my seniors, good luck on your next journey. But to the young ones, look, you’ve got a new record to break.”