JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

SAN BENITO — It was all smiles for the San Benito Lady Greyhounds as they defeated the Harlingen South Lady Hawks 7-3 in their District 32-6A softball matchup on Friday.

The win puts San Benito at 10-1 on the league season with them notching their seventh consecutive victory that has head Kristy Leal in a good mood.

“Obviously it feels good to be able to get this win against a very tough team,” Leal said. “I wanted my girls to find success especially from my pitchers and the senior leadership tonight was incredible.”

The Lady Greyhounds got going early, scoring a total of five runs through three while limiting South to just one with pitcher Sarah Garcia tossing five strikeouts.

Diandra Padilla relieved Garcia in the fifth when South mustered up two runs to close in on the Lady Greyhounds’ lead at 5-3.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Padilla zipped one past South batter Kytana Muniz to close out the inning and end any chance of the Lady Hawks’ comeback.

The Lady Greyhounds went on to extend their lead in the sixth inning with two more runs to put themselves on top 7-3.

Garcia, who closed out the game at shortstop, iced the game with a solid grab that solidified the Greyhounds’ victory.

Now that San Benito took care of business against South, its next notable matchup comes against the Weslaco Lady Panthers on Thursday at Lady Greyhound Field.

The last time the two met, San Benito was able to squeeze out a 3-2 victory. A win on Thursday would go a very long way toward a league title.

Meanwhile, South’s loss dropped the Lady Hawks to 7-4 in conference play and they will host the Lady Panthers on Tuesday.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

In their last meeting, the Harlingen South Lady Hawks took District 32-6A by storm when they defeated the San Benito Lady Greyhounds 3-1 to hand San Benito its only loss of the league season so far.

The game came down to the wire when San Benito loaded the bases in the sixth inning but fell short in its efforts due to the sound defensive play of the Lady Hawks.

“In this district every game is big and it was huge for us to pull of the win because our girls hadn’t beaten them in awhile,” said South head coach Elias Martinez. “Our girls continue to work hard and we’re going to do our best to finish out the season on a high note.”

Since then, the Lady Hawks have catapulted to a 7-3 conference record and will now travel to San Benito to take on the Lady Greyhounds tonight at 7.

Meanwhile, San Benito sits atop the league with a 9-1 record and is currently riding a six-game winning streak.

With home field advantage, the Lady Greyhounds will be a force to be reckoned with as they attempt to avenge their loss to the Lady Hawks.

HOPING TO BOUNCE BACK: The Harlingen Lady Cardinals will be looking to garner their fourth win on the league season when they host the Weslaco East Lady Wildcats tonight.

Although it hasn’t been an easy ride, head coach Cassandra Hernandez said that there’s plenty of ball still left to be played.

“We’re approaching this game with a lot of confidence and will continue to fight hard until the end,” she said. “The girls have worked hard all year and I’m excited to see how they will deliver in these upcoming games.”

On Tuesday, the Lady Cards got shut out by Weslaco High, 6-0.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN— The last time the Harlingen Cardinals and Harlingen South Hawks met on the baseball diamond, the game was pushed to 10 innings and the Cards came out on top 4-3.

Although the first game was a nail biter the second matchup on Tuesday told a different story that ended with the same result as the Cards took care of business early and dominated the Hawks 11-1.

With the solid outing the Cardinals are now 6-2 in District 32-6A play and are currently on a two-game win streak.

“It always feels good when we can get a win in this type of fashion and we’re going to enjoy it,” said Cards head coach Bryan Aughney. “But I always remind the guys that every game is a step closer to achieving our goals and that we have still have work to do.”

The Cardinals didn’t miss a beat in the first inning, scoring a total of nine runs with five consecutive RBIs that gave Harlingen a commanding 9-0 lead at the end of the first.

Harlingen took advantage of four errors by South in the first and batter Boedy Flores ignited the Cardinal in each of his two times at bat.

“We hit the ball hard and well early on and that lead to us putting up those runs in the first,” said Aughney. “We took advantage of their defensive miscues, which allowed our pitcher to really go out there and do his thing.”

Harlingen pitcher Mathew Sesler kept the Hawks in check, throwing a total of 42 pitches in the game until he was relieved in the fifth by Punky Ortega.

South’s Nick Muniz scored for the Hawks in the fifth.

Harlingen hosts Brownsville Rivera in their next matchup on Friday while South travels to Los Fresnos to face the Falcons.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

SANTA ROSA — It was a pure defensive battle between the Santa Rosa Lady Warriors and the Lyford Lady Bulldogs in their District 32-3A softball game on Friday night.

Both teams remained scoreless until the seventh inning when Lyford’s Jerrica Rojas’ hit to left field brought in Leilani Salazar for game’s only run.

Rojas was also the winning pitcher as she iced the game with nine strikeouts and made the final out to seal Lyford’s 1-0 victory.

The Lady Bulldog’s remained perfect in league play with a 3-0 record and head coach Joe Rios wants his team to continue to find success.

“We were hitting the ball all night and made it count when we needed to,” Rios said. “Santa Rosa’s a tough ballclub to beat, but our girls did the little things right, which resulted in our win.”

Santa Rosa’s closest opportunity to score came in the sixth when Gisselle Espinoza attempted to steal third base and a Lady Bulldog error gave her the green light to go home.

However, Espinoza was tagged out at home plate by Lyford catcher Jessica Cruz that not only saved the run but also closed out the sixth inning.

Cruz also contributed offensively by drilling a ball to left field that gave her Lady Bulldogs the spark it needed. Cruz was then subbed out at second base by pinch runner Salazar, who went on to score the game-winning run on Rojas’ single.

“Our team is really building its chemistry well and it showed tonight,” said Rios. “We’re just going to continue to ride the wave and play tough down the stretch.”

The Lady Bulldog’s will now travel to Monte Alto to take on the Lady Blue Devils on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

RIO HONDO — As the Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats continue to reign atop the competition in District 32-4A, all head coach Brett Esparza wants from his girls is to maintain their high intensity.

And as Rio Hondo took on the Progreso Lady Red Ants on Thursday, the Lady Cats displayed their dominance with a 16-0 win in three innings.

With the victory, Rio Hondo remains perfect in league play with an 8-0 record and marks their fourth shutout of the conference season.

“Moving into this part of district we wanted to bring back some of the things we haven’t done in a while,” Esparza said. “We want to be at full strength in all aspects of the game, showing different sides of ourselves; but I’m happy with the girls’ performance tonight.”

Rio Hondo began the game with back-to-back bunts from Tiana Sandoval and Abby Alvarado to get on base.

The Lady Bobcats then loaded the bases after Alexa Castellanos walked, bringing Bianca Cruz to the plate.

Cruz’s deep hit to midfield platted all her teammates, giving the Lady Bobcats a quick 3-0 lead over the Lady Red Ants.

Rio Hondo would then run wild over Progreso as the Lady Bobcats went on to score six more runs to end the first inning with a commanding 9-0 lead.

The Lady Cats mirrored their performance from the first with another seven runs in the second inning to go up 16-0.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the third, Progreso had their one chance to score some runs, but would fall short in the end.

Rio Hondo pitcher Annie Alvarado iced the game by pitching her eighth strikeout against the Lady Red Ants to seal the victory.

The Lady Bobcats will now travel to Raymondville as they take on the Lady Bearkats on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

After experiencing a 12-11 heartbreaking loss to the Harlingen South Lady Hawks on Tuesday, the Harlingen Lady Cardinals have a nice shot at redemption in their next matchup.

The Lady Cardinals are set to host the Brownsville Rivera Lady Raiders, who are in last place in District 32-6A with a 0-7 record. In their last meeting, the Lady Cards won the game 19-1.

On Tuesday, the Lady Cardinals got off to a quick start against the Lady Hawks when Skylar Macias hit a home run to give Harlingen a two-run lead at the end of the first inning.

Macias also threw eight strikeouts and teammate Mikayla Cabriales hit two homers, including a grand slam in the fifth inning that tied the game.

Meanwhile, the Lady Hawks are currently 6-2 on the district season with their two losses coming against the Weslaco Lady Panthers (7-1) and the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons.

South head coach Elias Martinez hopes the win on Tuesday will serve his team well when they travel to Los Fresnos (4-4) to take on the Lady Falcons tonight.

“They are a tough team and very well coached, and we will surely have our hands full with Los Fresnos,” Martinez said. “The game will come down to who makes routine plays under pressure.”

In their first matchup, the Lady Hawks lost to the Lady Falcons 5-2.

As for the San Benito Lady Greyhounds, they completed a season sweep of the Lady Falcons on Tuesday by defeating Los Fresnos 10-3.

The Lady Greyhounds are 7-1 in league play and will travel to Weslaco to take on the East Lady Wildcats tonight at 7 p.m.

Weslaco East lost to Weslaco in their matchup on Tuesday and San Benito head coach Kristy Leal knows East will be no pushover.

“This district is tough and with the way East put up a fight against Weslaco, we’ll have to remain focused,” Leal said. “I’m expecting a good game but if we do the little things right we should be able to find success.”

San Benito dominated Weslaco East with a score of 7-0 in their first meeting.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN— There’s no better way to begin the second half of the district season than for two arch rivals going back and forth in a grudge match.

After dropping the first game of the season to the Harlingen South Lady Hawks, the Harlingen Lady Cardinals were looking to get even as they hosted South on Tuesday.

In a game that came down to the wire, the Lady Hawks were victorious in the end as they defeated the Lady Cardinals once again 12-11.

The win puts South at 6-2 on the District 32-6A season and head coach Elias Martinez was relieved his team pulled out the win in such a close game.

“In a matchup like this, all records go out the window since it is an age-old rivalry,” Martinez said. “You know, it was a great game for the fans because of the 23 runs from both teams, but we’re fortunate the game ended in our favor.”

Trailing 9-5 in the fifth inning, Harlingen’s Mikayla Cabriales stepped up to the plate with two outs on the board and the bases loaded.

Taking advantage of her grand opportunity, Cabriales hit a grand slam to left field to tie the game at 9-9 to end the fifth and put the Lady Hawks on their heels.

That was until South’s Kaitlynn De La Fuente answered with a home run of her own to put the Lady Hawks back on top.

The Lady Hawks scored two more runs in the sixth, pushing their lead to 12-10 after Harlingen’s Eneli Garza scored for the Lady Cardinals.

South didn’t score in the seventh and held a slim two-run lead over the Lady Cardinals.

Once again, Cabriales struck fire hitting yet another home run, this time to right field, to bring Harlingen within one at 12-11. But that was as close as the Lady Red Birds got as the Lady Hawks held on for the win.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

PORT ISABEL — All season long the Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats haven’t seen a seventh inning as they’ve cruised past the competition in District 32-4A.

And when they took the field Saturday afternoon at Port Isabel, the streak continued as the Lady Cats defeated the Lady Tarpons 10-0 in their six-inning fashion.

The win gives the Lady Bobcats a record of 7-0 on the district season and head coach Brett Esparza is quite pleased with how his girls finished the first half of league play.

“That was one of our goals to get through these first seven games and become familiar with our opponents,” Esparza said. “Now that we got a taste of our competition, we can re-evaluate our game plan and make adjustments down the stretch.”

After a scoreless first two innings of play, the Lady Cats struck first with a deep hit to center field off the bat of Bianca Cruz to plate Nayeli Garcia and Abbie Alvarado for a 2-0 lead.

Cruz later scored on an RBI single by Jennifer Flores to close the third inning with a 3-0 advantage.

The Lady Tarpons couldn’t muster much offense with Rio Hondo’s Jennifer Flores pitching as she threw six strikeouts in the first three innings and only allowed one base hit.

“Jennifer’s having, in my opinion, the best year of her career here and when she gets going like that she can be lights out from the plate,” said Esparza.

PI held Rio Hondo scoreless in the fourth inning, but that momentum was soon crushed as it was the Lady Bobcats’ show for the rest of the game.

A grounder by Rio Hondo’s Annie Alvarado brought in Cruz and Miranda Martinez to push the Lady Bobcat lead to 5-0 in the fifth inning.

The Lady Bobcats then scored five more runs in the sixth inning to solidify the victory. Flores finished the contest with 11 total strikeouts.

“The focal point for the rest of the season is to continue to play at a high level with our girls being able to play their game,” Esparza said. “When the girls can express themselves and have fun, that’s when they’re at their best so we want to maintain that moving forward.”

The Lady Cats are now off until Friday when they host the Progresso Lady Red Ants at 6 p.m.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — As usual, the fans loaded the stands as the Harlingen Lady Cardinals hosted the San Benito Lady Greyhounds in a District 32-6A softball showdown on Friday.

Well, San Benito fans surely got their money’s worth as the Lady Greyhounds pummeled the Lady Cardinals 14-0 in six innings to cap the first half of the league season.

The Lady Greyhounds are currently riding a three-game win streak and sit at 6-1 on the district season.

“We wanted to finish strong and do all the things right in this game to be able to close it out,” said Lady Greyhounds head coach Kristy Leal. “Our defense played lights out and our timely hitting was the key in our victory tonight.”

Committing back-to-back errors in the second inning, the Lady Cardinals allowed San Benito runners Angela Nunez and Yvonne Salinas to get on base.

Shortly after, a deep hit to midfield from San Benito’s Audrey Huerta gave birth to a 2-0 Lady Greyhounds lead to end the second.

The Lady Cardinals didn’t allow a base hit in the third inning but couldn’t score any runs on a stingy Lady Greyhounds’ defense.

Once again, San Benito capitalized on Harlingen errors and was able to score three runs to push the lead to 5-0 after four.

With the game in control, the Lady Greyhounds continued to light up the scoreboard scoring nine runs in the fifth and sixth innings to cap off a dominating performance.

“Our motto is to score early and score often,” Leal said. “We wanted to get the bats rolling and that’s what we’re aiming for down the stretch.”

The Lady Cardinals committed a total of six errors defensively and offensively didn’t reach third base all game.

The loss puts Harlingen at 2-5 on the season with their next game against crosstown rival Harlingen South.

Meanwhile, the Lady Greyhounds will host the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons in their next matchup.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

After the San Benito Lady Greyhounds defeated the Weslaco Lady Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday, things suddenly became very interesting in District 32-6A.

Weslaco had been riding an undefeated season until San Benito knocked them off the throne and now both squads are 5-1 in the league standings.

The win gave San Benito the edge it needed to get back in the hunt for the conference crown and Lady Greyhounds head coach Kristy Leal was all smiles after the much-needed victory.

“To go into Weslaco and come out with a win was huge for us,” Leal said. “I think it boosted the girls’ confidence a bit and they’re starting to play to their full potential.”

Although the Lady Greyhounds are coming off a great performance, they’ll now have to focus their attention on rival Harlingen High.

The Lady Cardinals are currently 2-4 in district play and are also coming off a victory where they defeated the Hanna Lady Eagles 11-4 on Tuesday.

“It was a good win for us because it now sets the momentum for facing a very good San Benito team,” said Lady Cards head coach Cassandra Hernandez. “We’ll definitely have to limit our errors and play smart from the plate if we want to earn a win against San Benito.”

“Anytime Harlingen and San Benito meet it’s always going to be a good game,” Leal said. “The Cardinals will definitely be a good challenge for our girls, but hopefully we can go in there and take care of business.”

The Lady Greyhounds will take on the Lady Cardinals at 7 p.m. at the Harlingen softball field behind KEYS Academy today.

Meanwhile the Harlingen South Lady Hawks hold a record of 4-2 and are the ones who handed San Benito its only district loss on the season.

South will travel to Brownsville as they take on the Rivera Lady Raiders tonight and will face crosstown rival Harlingen High next Tuesday.