KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — The first inning went exactly how Brownsville Veterans Memorial hoped it would.
Senior pitcher Mia Anzaldua struck out the side and sophomore Mariangel Barbosa cranked a leadoff homer as the Lady Chargers rolled past Sharyland High 15-0 in five innings during their Class 5A bi-district playoff game Saturday.
Brownsville Veterans now awaits the winner between Calallen and Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial.
With the playoff win came school history. Anzaldua, who already holds records for single-season strikeouts and wins in a season, broke the career strikeout record with her 13-K performance Saturday.
Anzaldua struck out the side during the fifth inning, breaking former Lady Chargers pitcher Cassie Valdez’s career strikeout record of 666. The crafty lefty has 667 career strikeouts.
“Now I can finally relax, knowing that is all locked in,” Anzaldua said. “Now the rest is just me getting more strikeouts and adding to that record.”
Heading into their game against Sharyland High, Anzaldua knew she was within striking distance of the record.
“I knew at the beginning of the game, and then when they told me I had 10 strikeouts I knew I needed 13, so I needed to strike out the last three batters, but it was pretty stressful with the last three batters.” Anzaldua said.
Against the Lady Rattlers, it was vintage Anzaldua. The southpaw threw a complete five innings, fanned 13, walked one and yielded one hit. Anzaldua established her zone by striking out the first five batters she faced and retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced.
“(Mia) was far behind when the season started,” Lady Chargers coach Rayner Cardenas said. “So we knew and we talked with the parents, and we knew exactly what we had to do and what it was going to take for her to break it.
“From the number of innings pitched to the number of games, it was more than she is used to. This year she picked up all the innings, and the purpose was to see how close she could get, and the fact that she broke it today is an honor. Cassie was a legend here in Brownsville and in the Valley and we didn’t think anyone would break the record, but it goes to show how hard Mia works and how dedicated she is.”
Backing up Anzaldua, the Lady Chargers’ offense put on a clinic. BVM posted a five-run first inning, highlighted by a three-run triple from Sarah Gomez. During the second inning, the Lady Chargers sent 12 batters to the plate and added seven more runs.
Four Lady Chargers collected at least two hits each. As an offense, they collected 11 hits on 15 runs.
The strong start was ideal for the Lady Chargers and the exact way they wanted to start their playoff run.
“Heck yeah, we will take it,” Cardenas said. “Anytime you can get an early lead, especially in the playoffs, it takes off some pressure. You come out all week and practice hard for those things to happen, and for us to execute it helped us out.”