By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

COPRPUS CHRISTI — Rio Hondo’s historic softball season came to an end Saturday afternoon at Corpus Christi’s Cabaniss Field.

After an emotional loss in Game 1 of the Region IV-4A series against Beeville Jones on Friday, the Lady Cats put forth a courageous effort but still fell one series short of the state tournament.

In Game 2 of the series on Saturday evening, Beeville Jones’ Makayla Mendez hit the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the eighth inning to seal a wild 4-3 series win.

Rio Hondo’s season ends with a 27-7 record along with their deepest postseason run in program history.

“We’re so proud of our girls and what they accomplished,” said Rio Hondo coach Brett Esparza. “It hurts right now, but we’ll take a moment and realize how far we have come as a program. A loss is always hard, but this is something we can learn from and build upon going forward.”

On Saturday, Beeville Jones turned to pitcher Saleen Flores, who held the Lady Cats hitless for three innings until Jennifer Flores singled in the fourth to break up the no-hit bid.

Meanwhile, after three scoreless innings, the Lady Trojans scored two runs in the top of the fourth, highlighted by an RBI single from Allison Gonzalez.

Rio Hondo needed a momentum shift and got one in the bottom of the fifth. After a leadoff single by Tianna Sandoval and a walk from Abbie Alvarado, the offense put the ball in play with both Sandoval and Alvarado scoring on a pair of fielder’s choices.

Rio Hondo kept the momentum going when an error by the Beeville shortstop allowed Bianca Cruz to score, giving the Lady Cats their first lead at 3-2.

The Lady Trojans answered with the tying run in the sixth inning. In the bottom of the seventh, Cruz led the inning off with a walk and wound up on third after a double from Flores with no outs.

Rio Hondo missed on the opportunity with the next three outs coming via a pair of strikeouts and a fly out that forced extra innings for a second straight night.

“Making it this far is something to be proud of,” said senior shortstop Alexa Castellanos. “We’re the last (Valley) team standing and we represented the Valley well. As a senior we left our mark. It was a great four years and now it’s the underclassmen’s team heading into next year.”

By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

RIO HONDO — Three Rio Grande Valley softball teams entered the regional semifinal round of the playoffs this past weekend, but only one survived: The Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats.

After Rio Hondo won Game 1 of the series in a 10-inning pitcher’s duel on Friday, the Lady Cats and Wimberley locked horns Saturday in what was truly a battle of attrition.

Game 2 turned out to be a five-hour, 15-inning marathon that the Lady Texans ended up winning 9-8 to force a Game 3, which did not get underway until nearly 11:15 p.m.

Rio Hondo dug deep and put together a gutsy, courageous effort in the wee hours of early Sunday morning to finally clinch the series and advance to the Region IV-4A final later this week against Beeville Jones.

The Lady Bobcats used a three-run first and second inning in Game 3 to take a 6-0 lead that they would never give up.

Junior pitcher Annie Alvarado entered Game 3 with a fresh arm and delivered a performance that will be carved in Lady Bobcats softball history.

The savvy veteran stymied the Lady Texans with a complete-game effort, allowing three runs on just three hits. The early run support was enough for Alvarado to work with as the Lady Bobcats sealed a 6-3 win just shade after 1 o’clock on Sunday morning.

“We had total faith in Annie,” said Rio Hondo head coach Brett Esparza. “Miranda (Martinez) and Jenny (Flores) pitched their hearts out in Game 2 and then Annie went in there and got the job done in a big spot for us.”

“This is some of the best softball I’ve been around. That’s a great team (Wimberley) to go extra innings back-to-back nights and play neck-and-neck. Wow! We had a team meeting after Game 2 and our girls came out ready and won the mental battle.”

NOT SO FORTUNATE: While Rio Hondo may be bound for the Elite Eight, both the Harlingen South Lady Hawks and Weslaco Lady Panthers saw their seasons come to a close on Saturday.

Despite the Lady Hawks’ loss to San Antonio Brennan, there is plenty to be excited about for next season.

Harlingen South overcame various injuries and got healthy just in time to began clicking at the right time. The Lady Hawks entered the playoffs as a three seed and played consecutive one-game playoffs.

South outlasted Edinburg North in the bi-district round followed by three straight trips to Cabaniss Field. The Lady Hawks downed Laredo United then rallied to win two straight against South San Antonio.

The Lady Hawks will return 13 players to their roster next season, but will need to fill the cleanup spot and first base, which was occupied by four-year letterman Ashley Reyna. The shortstop position will also be vacant after Jasmin Gallegos graduates next week.

The Lady Hawks ended their season at 20-13.

Meanwhile the Lady Panthers’ season came to an end at the hands of New Braunfels Canyon on Saturday afternoon in Laredo.

Much like South, Weslaco will return a majority of its starters while four-year ace Taylor Tafolla will pass the torch to Ashley Sada, who is set to be a junior next season and has a plenty of experience in the circle.

Weslaco’s season ended with a final record of 25-5.