HARLINGEN — Harlingen High had not won a playoff game since 2009, and only a win Friday night would keep its season going.
The Cardinals stepped up to the plate in front of their home crowd to pull off a 3-2 win over the La Joya High Coyotes.
“They just fought,” Harlingen High head coach Kevin Ledesma said. “That is something we talked about today. We wanted to force that Game 3, and our girls played amazing defensively, offensively we put it together and, overall, just a great team win.”
Harlingen High senior Madison Vargas watched the game from the bench as a designated hitter. Vargas started the top of the sixth inning with a double and scored when the throw after Zuelly Cruz’s dribbler down the third-base line sailed over the first baseman’s head.
Vargas beat out the throw at the plate for the winning run.
“It was just me focusing and doing what I needed to do,” Vargas said. “Just helping my team as much as I could.”
Vargas also hit a double earlier in the game and is likely to start in the circle for Game 3 at 7 p.m. today in Harlingen. Vargas and her fellow seniors were not ready to hang it up, she said.
Freshman pitcher Vivian Garcia picked up the win after relieving Abigail Garcia in the sixth with the score tied at 2. Vivian Garcia faced the heart of the Coyotes’ lineup to close out the game.
“She knows what she has, and we know what she is capable of,” Ledesma said about Vivian Garcia.
Abigail Garcia and Vivian Garcia had a terrific defense behind them Friday night. The infield of Cruz, Athena Linnartz, Lilly Rocha and Emma Louks made incredible plays to help out their pitchers.
La Joya High tied things at two in the fifth inning. Alayahi Alaniz drove in the tying run with a double. Jordan Reyes scored earlier in the inning after stealing home.
Harlingen High picked up its first two runs in the fourth inning. Linnartz smacked a single, Rocha walked and Cruz brought them home with a double.
“(Cruz) is amazing,” Ledesma said. “One of those freshmen that is a firecracker that provided that little spark when we needed.”