By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Harlingen South Lady Hawks pitchers Janyssa Ramos and Iliana Saucedo shut out the Weslaco High Lady Panthers 2-0 in a District 32-6A meeting Tuesday night.
“The teamwork was great in the circle,” Lady Hawks coach Joey Rios said. “The pitching was definitely on point. Glory to God, I am definitely proud of these girls. We talked about enjoying tonight, and the next one is the most important one because it is the next one.”
Ramos started the game for South (17-4, 5-1) and went five innings, striking out nine Lady Panthers (19-5, 5-1). Saucedo pitched the final two innings to close it out.
“I feel very good about my performance,” Ramos said. “It is a very big win. The competition in our district is very hard, but I know we can keep winning.”
The Lady Panthers threatened during the bottom of the seventh with two runners in scoring position and two outs. A line drive was hit directly to the South second baseman for the final out.
Lady Hawks designated hitter Natalie Martinez knocked in the first run of the game when her well-placed base hit brought in third baseman Karyme Martinez from second base.
“When I went up to the plate, I knew that I had to hit to bring that runner in,” freshman Lexi Sandoval said.
Sandoval gave South that cushion in the bottom of sixth with a double. Sandoval’s blooper over the infield scored catcher Yezenia Perez, who was on second base after she hit a double.
The left-handed Ramos consistently threw strikes early in the count to get ahead of batters, forcing the Lady Panthers to protect.
Weslaco High pitcher Katia Reyes also had a superb outing on the mound. She struck out multiple Lady Hawks batters but did not get any run support.
“I think we did not bring our best game today,” Lady Panthers coach Mario Rodriguez said. “They did, and we just got to get better. We got to be ourselves in this tough district.”
On Friday, Harlingen South will be on the road against Los Fresnos, and Weslaco High will play host to San Benito.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The story corrects the name of Weslaco High pitcher Katia Reyes. RGVSports.com regrets the error.