CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star

HARLINGEN — As quickly as Harlingen High snuck into the playoffs, Edinburg Vela sent them right back to the offseason as the Sabercats clinched the bi-district championship with a 10-2 Game 2 victory over the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon. Vela will now play Eagle Pass in the area round.

“Coming to play Harlingen after we had prepared to play Hanna midweek… it was just a different type of preparation,” Vela head coach Jaime Perez said. “It changed the mentality, but I thought our kids played really well.”

Southpaw Matthew Sessler took the loss for Harlingen in his final start as a Cardinal, but the 10 runs on his stat line give the wrong impression of his outing. Sessler struck out six and had good control over his four innings, but the defense did little to help him out.

Between misplayed routine ground balls, poor reads off the bat and throwing errors, Harlingen fell into a hole too deep to crawl out of.

“(Matt) did great, he was keeping them off balance and they were struggling with him,” Harlingen head coach Juan Rangel said. “We just needed defense to help him out and, unfortunately, it didn’t happen. We gave up a lot of unearned runs.”

Sabercats pitcher Adam Alviso shut down the Cardinals’ offense with ease. He surrendered just three hits over a complete-game effort and struck out eight. After giving up two runs in the third, Alviso recovered flawlessly and sent the Cardinals down in order each of the last four innings.

“Adam’s a big surprise with that different arm angle… he’s just tough,” Perez said. “There’s a reason why he’s 8-0. Our kids really give him a lot of run support so he relaxes a lot and gives us an opportunity.”

Senior first baseman Joey Recio and junior designated hitter Eric Martinez paced Vela at the plate. Recio went 2 for 2 with two walks and drove in three runs while Martinez scored three times, had two RBIs and finished 2 for 3 with a walk.

Though Harlingen’s postseason was brief, Rangel is pleased his team got the playoff experience and thinks that will bode well for next season.

“Just being in the playoffs was good for us,” Rangel said. “Some of the young guys got exposure. Some of them you could see on the field that they were nervous, so next year we expect a lot of good things with a lot of the younger guys coming back.”

TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

EDINBURG — The Los Fresnos Falcons capitalized on Edinburg North’s mistakes, repeatedly drew walks and used a handful of timely hits to squash the Cougars 11-2 Saturday afternoon and claim the best-of-three Class 6A bi-district series 2-1.

Los Fresnos, the District 32-6A champion, drew 11 walks and had three more players hit by pitches. Three Falcons pitchers combined for a five-hitter, moving Los Fresnos on to a second-round matchup against the Mission Eagles.

Edinburg North, meanwhile, concluded the season 15-15-2. The Cougars barely lost Game 1, 5-4, and then nipped Los Fresnos in Game 2 by the same score. Cougars coach Richard Valdez and his players said they were proud of the way the team fought, but they ultimately could not overcome the mistakes.

“Coming into the series, I told the guys this would be a very evenly matched series, and that we had to eliminate the errors and eliminate the walks,” Valdez said. “And in the innings where they got their runs, I think we had the walks and a hit batsman. There were other things that contributed to their big innings.”

Valdez added that the coaching staff implored Edinburg North’s pitchers to make Los Fresnos keep the ball in play. Instead, the Falcons were getting on base for free.

“And they took advantage of it, and they are district champs for a reason,” Valdez said.

Los Fresnos did not hit the ball very well on Saturday, belting out just six hits in the seven-inning game. However, Falcons batters were very patient at the plate. They pounced on the Cougars early in the game by scoring three runs on two hits, three walks and an error in the third inning, and then followed with four more runs in the fourth on two hits and five walks — including three consecutive.

Edinburg North made pitching changes, but to no avail. All told, Edinburg North pitchers combined to throw 175 pitches and faced 43 batters in the nearly three-hour contest.

After batting around the order in the fourth inning, Los Fresnos did it again in the top of the seventh with two hits, four free bases and an error. The late surge gave Los Fresnos 11 total runs, which was more than enough to beat Edinburg North and advance. Los Fresnos coach Rene Morales said the Falcons’ approach to the game was to use patience.

“I knew they were down, just like we were down, on pitching, and we just took advantage of that pitching getting a little tired,” Morales said. “We were able to score a few runs on them. It’s the third game, and every man has to be up and ready to go.”

Morales added that the Falcons did not relax, even with a 7-1 lead after four innings. He said given what happened in the first two games, Los Fresnos was not going to take Edinburg North for granted — even with a big lead.

Though North’s season came to a close, Valdez said he was proud of his squad, which is loaded with underclassmen.

HENRY MILLER | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

EDCOUCH — Defensively, the Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jackets could’ve filled a few spots on any sports television highlight reel Friday night.
However, coach Ruth Flores wishes their bats would’ve had as many highlights.
Calallen sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth inning and scored six runs to overcome a 5-3 deficit and win Game 1 of the best-of-three Class 5A Area playoff series 11-5 over Edcouch-Elsa. Game 2 will be played today at 2 p.m. in Corpus Christi. If necessary, a third game will be played 30 minutes after the completion of Game 2.
The Wildcats racked up 12 hits and seven walks off Yellow Jackets freshman pitcher Ocean Gomez.
“I told Ocean that this is what playoff softball is like,” Flores said. “But she’s tough, and she’s a fighter. We knew they were going to put the ball in play, and they did. We just didn’t do the same thing. Our bats weren’t alive, and that’s what we have to do there — bring our bats and attack.”
Edcouch-Elsa trailed 3-0 before scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning. Sara Sambillo walked, Jackie Alvarado hit an RBI double, and Gomez added a run-scoring single. The Yellow Jackets added three more in the fourth with a two-run double from Sambillo and another RBI single from Gomez.
But E-E only registered two more hits the rest of the way as Calallen coach Teresa Lentz replaced pitcher Lizette Del Angel with Zoie Richardson, who went the final three innings.
“We just wanted to give them a different look,” Lentz said. “She (Del Angel) was uncharacteristically off just a little bit, and they were hitting her — putting balls in play — so we thought a change at that point would be good.”
Shortstop Odessa Mata gunned down two players at the plate, including one in the first inning after leadoff hitter Jessica Johnson started the game with a walk and made her way around to third. Ariana Gonzalez hit a grounder to Mata’s right, and she appeared ready to throw to first before firing home for the second out of the inning. She did the same for the second out in the second inning to help slow the Wildcats’ rally.
In the seventh, with a runner on first, Alvarado, who was moved to left field that inning, caught a deep fly ball and in one motion threw all the way across the field — no bounce — and right on target to first baseman Sienna Ortiz to double up a Wildcat.
“Our defense has done that all year. It’s a very good team defensively,” Flores said. “But we talked right after the game about our bats. They didn’t show up today, and they know now that we have to be aggressive up there tomorrow.”
Sam Montelongo went 3 for 3 for Edcouch-Elsa, scoring the tying run in the fourth on a leadoff bloop double. Overall, E-E had seven hits and came into the series after a three-game win against Sharyland Pioneer in the bi-district round. Calallen came in as the District 30-5A champions and defeated Floresville 9-1 and 14-2 in the bi-district round. The winner will play the winner of Flour Bluff and Mercedes in the regional quarterfinals next week. Flour Bluff won the first game of that series 8-7 in 10 innings on Friday. Games 2 and, if necessary, 3 will be held today at Flour Bluff.

STAFF REPORTS

LOS FRESNOS — The 11th annual East-West All-Star Soccer Showcase presented by the Rio Grande Valley Soccer Coaches Organization is scheduled today on the Los Fresnos High School campus.

It was originally scheduled at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.

The annual event showcases the Valley’s top senior soccer talent and over the years has become an opportunity for players to be signed by college recruiters.

Games are scheduled at 9:30 a.m. for the girls and 11:30 a.m. for the boys.

The West teams won all four matches at last year’s Showcase when it was played at Valley View.

The Showcase is returning to its original format of having just one match for girls and one for boys. For the past five years there have been four all-star games with girls and boys divided into Class 6A and sub-6A squads for competition. This year there will be only two matches but more time may be added to the games to allow everyone to play.

Some top Valley players are on the all-star rosters.

Jackelyn Lemus, a stopper/defensive midfielder for the District 30-6A champion McAllen High Lady Bulldogs, is expected to play for the West. This season McAllen High, a squad composed of mostly underclassmen, became the Valley’s first girls team to make it to the UIL state tournament at Georgetown in April.

For the East girls, Kryssie Rivera of Pace and several of her teammates are expected to play. Rivera scored 56 goals for the District 32-5A champion Lady Vikings this season and was named 32-5A MVP.

High school coaches from across the Valley will be guiding the teams.

Stadium gates open at 9 a.m. T-shirts and concessions will be sold.

TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

WESLACO — Junior pitcher Jonathan Castillo struck out seven and surrendered just six hits Friday night as the defensive-minded Weslaco High Panthers evened their Class 6A bi-district series with a 2-1 victory over the visiting PSJA High Bears.

The Panthers’ defense was outstanding despite a couple miscues, and first baseman Seth Sanchez’s spectacular sliding catch for the third out in the top of the seventh turned back a dangerous PSJA High rally that scored a run and put another runner in scoring position.

The best-of-three Class 6A bi-district series is now tied at 1, and Game 3 is set for 1 p.m. today at PSJA High.

“We expected something like this. We knew they were good defensively, and we’ve been good defensively and with our pitching,” Weslaco coach Eddie Serna said. “He (Castillo) was on point with everything we wanted to throw at them. The way played it out, it was just perfect.”

Castillo wasn’t perfect on the stat sheet, but he had strong command of three pitches that confounded Bears’ batters and kept them off-balance most of the night.

Through the first six innings of the game, the right-hander faced just five batters more than the minimum. Meanwhile, his defense came through just about any time the Bears made contact with the ball, including a key double play in the sixth inning to stifle another attempted rally.

Even with the stellar play, Weslaco hung on to a precarious 2-0 lead entering the top of the seventh inning. Rico Avila hit solo homer in the second, and Mario Leal notched a run-scoring double in the fifth.

PSJA’s Vicente Castillo started the final-inning rally with a deep single to left. Next, Jonathan Castillo walked Trey Guajardo. Then, DH Pablo Treviño struck out, and a substitute runner for Guajardo was tagged out at first base after taking too big of a lead.

But the inning was still alive as Jonathan Castillo began missing his spots. He gave up a double to Joel Pecina and a walk to Cesar Cantu, the inning’s fifth batter. That brought Thursday’s offensive hero, Juan Zambrano, to the plate.

On Jonathan Castillo’s fourth pitch, Zambrano popped a shallow foul toward the visiting dugout. That forced first baseman Sanchez to sprint toward the ball and make a sliding catch just before it hit the ground, recording the third out.

“I didn’t even see that last play, but I saw him slide, and I heard the roar of the crowd, so I figured we caught it,” Serna said.

Jonathan Castillo (8-1) said he was not tired at the end of the contest, but added that he maybe lost focus some because he was excited. He was, however, happy with his performance and the end result.

“My slider was working for me. It kept away from the batters. They were swinging and missing, and I kept the ball low,” Castillo said. “That was my key to victory.”

And Panthers defense?

“I believe in my team and my defense,” he said. “The double play? That’s a pitcher’s best friend right there.”

SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR | TJ GARCIA

SAN JUAN — PSJA High Bears pitcher Cheke Marroquin threw a two-hit shutout while striking out six to silence the visiting Weslaco High Panthers 4-0 and give the Bears a Game 1 victory Thursday night.

Marroquin, a right-hander, faced just three batters over the minimum as he threw only 79 pitches and walked no Panthers. If not for three PSJA errors, Marroquin may have had a perfect game. He had a no-hitter through six innings before surrendering two hits in the top of the seventh.

Still, his performance, along with second baseman Juan Zambrano’s two doubles and two runs scored, was efficient enough to grab a one-game lead in the Class 6A best-of-three bi-district series. Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. today in Weslaco.

“I was feeling pretty confident, especially with the defense. We had a couple of errors, but we came back,” Marroquin said. “I got down after I lost the no-hitter, but I came back stronger and closed it out.”

Marroquin added that he felt stronger as the game went along. He kept his arm warm in the dugout by throwing the ball around between innings, he said.

Not like he had much time. The game moved at a quick pace, as the teams combined for seven hits. PSJA’s bats only cobbled together five hits off Weslaco High starter Rico Avila. In addition to Marroquin’s pitching, Weslaco was hurt by some costly and untimely errors.

With the game scoreless in the bottom of the first, Zambrano doubled to the left-field wall. PSJA’s next batter, Ariben Gutierrez, slapped a grounder to short, but the throw was errant to first, allowing Zambrano to score. Gutierrez advanced to second and then scored after two more batters grounded out.

In the third, Zambrano led off with another double off the left-field wall — he had only four doubles during the entire regular season, batting .360 — and he scored a few batters later to hand the Bears a 3-0 edge. With two outs in the third, pitcher Avila hit Devon DeLeon, and a fielding error allowed Vincente Castillo to reach first. The Bears’ Trey Guajardo followed with a single to score DeLeon.

Up 4-0, Marroquin kept working and produced enough magic for the victory.

“Cheke was just on fire, and when he gets a performance like that, the hitters know that we can just get a few runs, and we’re going to win this game,” said PSJA coach Marco Guajardo. “He was on a roll, and that was the biggest thing tonight.”

Guajardo was coy about who he’d throw today, saying there might be a surprise.

CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star

RIO HONDO — The runs came early and often in Rio Hondo on Friday night as the Lady Cats defeated Robstown 20-0 to clinch another bi-district championship.

Everyone played a part in scattering hits all around the diamond as five Lady Cats recorded multiple hits in the game and eight had at least one.

“The scoreboard doesn’t reflect how good of a team Robstown is,” Rio Hondo head coach Brett Esparza said. “That’s a good ballclub and they’re well coached. We wanted to be focused and jump on them at home. We’re pretty solid throughout the lineup and everybody can drive runs in.”

Sophomore third baseman Nayeli Garcia got the hit parade started with a leadoff single and her teammates were quick to join. The Lady Cats batted through the lineup twice in the opening frame, tallying nine hits and scoring 14 runs to set a dominant tone.

Robstown relief pitcher Kiara Hawkins managed a clean three-up, three-down inning in the second, but Rio Hondo’s bats weren’t quiet for long.

The Lady Cats scored four in the third and two in the fourth to cushion their lead. Freshman left fielder Abbie Torris had a perfect 4 for 4 night and seniors Bianca Cruz and Annie Alvarado paced Rio Hondo with three RBIs each.

“Our main goal was to stay focused and not step back, just hit them with the best we got in the first inning,” Cruz said. “The focus is there, the talent is there so I think we won’t have a problem doing (what we did last season) again and going farther.”

Freshman pitcher Kelsey Pizarro wasn’t fazed a bit by the playoff atmosphere. Her command was good and she breezed through the Robstown lineup, allowing just three hits and striking out five. Two of those hits came in the final inning.

“I felt very confident that I was throwing well and I could strike them out,” Pizarro said. “I talked to my senior catcher, Annie, and she helped me out (with the game plan). I felt good.”

The Lady Cats will now face Devine in a one-game area-round contest at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at Tuloso-Midway.

BY HENRY MILLER | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

WESLACO — Taylor Chavez had just driven a ball deep and foul.

“I have to take the next one yard,” she thought to herself.

She did exactly that on the ensuing pitch, a change-up that the Edinburg Vela shortstop blasted over the center field wall for her ninth home run of the season in the top of the eighth inning to lead the SaberCats to a 5-4 victory over Weslaco High in the first game of their Class 6A bi-district playoff series on Thursday.

“She was pitching change-ups all night, and I just waited on it,” Chavez said. “I didn’t’ know it was gone. I was running for my life. Then I heard everyone cheering and thought, ‘I can just jog now.’”

The two teams meet again in Game 2 of the best-of-three series at 8 p.m. today at Edinburg Vela.

Weslaco scored two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to tie the game and force extra innings. The Panthers’ final run came with the bases loaded, when Vela third baseman Alyssa Cedillo dropped a routine pop-up with two outs.

Chavez went over to Cedillo to console her after the play.

“I told her it’s OK, that we’ll get the next one,” Chavez recalled. “I still have to come up to bat.”

SaberCats pitcher Naomi Reyes had kept the Panthers off-balance for the first five innings, allowing just three hits, striking out five and not allowing a runner to get into scoring position. But Weslaco, just like Vela, has a high-octane offense, and the Panthers showed it in the sixth and seventh.

Weslaco scored a pair of runs on hits from Alyssa Escamilla, Charlene DeAnda and Audrey Escamilla and a sacrifice fly from Abby Luna to cut the lead in half.

“That was an up-and-down game, but Weslaco is a tough team, and this is going to be a tough series,” said Vela coach Jon Maples, whose team went 27-5 overall and 11-3 in District 31-6A to finish in second place. “We put up runs. They came back. A win is a win — gotta get ready for tomorrow night. It’s going to be a long series. It’s not over yet.”

Weslaco opened the seventh with four straight hits from Gabby Rivera, Lauren DeAnda, Jordan Diaz and Alyssa Escamilla to score one run and load the bases with no outs. Reyes then struck out Helen Gonzalez looking and forced Charlene DeAnda to pop out to second. The Panthers tied the game on the infield error before Reyes induced a groundout, setting the stage for Chavez, who ended up 3 for 4 on the night with the home run and three RBIs. Chavez garnered three of the SaberCats’ five hits on the night.

“Taylor has been hot all year,” said Maples, in his second year at the SaberCats’ helm. “In our district, people know who Taylor is. She’s a tough kid. Any swing is a winning swing, and I’ve trusted Taylor since day one. Anytime you need a big hit, she’s the girl I’ll call on. Her name is Vela.”

Vela scored its first run after a hit batsman, an error and a walk loaded the bases. Chavez singled to bring in Katherine Montero, but Gabriela Villarreal was thrown out at the plate. Maples argued the call with the home plate umpire, claiming she was tagged with just the glove rather than the ball.

Vela added two runs in the fourth with a single from Audrey Guerra, a fielder’s choice, hit batsman and a single from Amber Guerra. Their fourth run came in the fifth inning, with a leadoff double from Villarreal and run-scoring single from Chavez.

That’s when Weslaco made its run.

“We were just trying to hit the ball wherever she threw it,” Weslaco coach Mario Rodriguez said. “We hadn’t seen her before, but now we have, and everyone is just going to come in and try their best. Not too many times are we going to outhit an opponent and not win the game. The girls do a very good job of making adjustments.”

Weslaco outhit Edinburg 10-5.

CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star

LYFORD — In a game plagued by errors, Lyford fought back for a 3-2 win to open its Class 3A bi-district playoff series with Banquete.

“We believe heavily in our faith and we say we will not be shaken, we’re going to stick together and that’s what we did,” Lyford head coach Joey Rios said. “No matter the ups and downs or the way the game turns, we’re going to keep playing. Adversity struck and we never sat down.”

Banquete jumped on the board in the first behind a two-out, RBI single from third baseman Zoe Urrea. Lyford answered in the second when shortstop Karla Medina reached on an error to start the inning and her pinch runner later scored on a bad Banquete throw.

Lyford pitcher Evelyn Ortiz held the Lady Dogs scoreless for three frames, but her defense faltered again in the fifth. Medina fielded a groundball off the bat of her shortstop counterpart Amaya Gomez cleanly, but her throw was dropped at second to load the bases. Banquete second baseman Alyssa Garza then hit a sacrifice fly on the first pitch of her at-bat to give the Lady Dogs a 2-1 lead.

The Lady Bulldogs went down quickly in the bottom half of that frame and it looked like they would follow suit in the sixth thanks to two outstanding defensive plays from Banquete.

With two down, Medina hit a routine grounder straight at Garza, but the ball rolled under her glove. Right fielder Leilani Salazar stepped up to the plate and delivered a hard-hit single to right-center field. Banquete’s center fielder misplayed the ball, and two rouge throws later, Medina and Salazar had both crossed home plate to give Lyford a 3-2 advantage.

“Man, I was so hyped,” Salazar said. “That’s the biggest hit of my season and I give all glory to God. I wouldn’t be able to do that without my coaches and my teammates motivating me.”

Banquete got two hits in the top of the seventh, but Ortiz forced consecutive fly ball outs to clinch the win for Lyford.

“I felt so much more comfortable (after the runs), I wasn’t as pressured and I was like, ‘okay, if they can do it, I can do it,’” Ortiz said. “They push me to be better and I had to be there for them as they were for me.”

Lyford will travel to Banquete on Saturday to close out the series. Game two will start at 11 a.m. and game three will follow, if needed.

BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

PHARR — Consider it a senior moment.

Edcouch-Elsa four-year letterman Odessa Mata tripled in the bottom of the 8th inning and then scored the winning run on a wild pitch to give the Yellow Jackets a hard-fought 7-6 bi-district win over Sharyland Pioneer on Thursday night.

Mata, an elder statesman on a team bursting with freshman talent, came through just when the Yellow Jackets needed her most. She helped E-E overcome a seventh-inning 6-5 Pioneer lead and ultimately scored the run that put the Yellow Jackets up 1-0 in the best-of-three series being played at PSJA North.

“She (Pioneer pitcher Madison Sparks) had been pitching outside a lot, but that one she gave me down the middle,” Mata said of the pitch she whacked to the fence. “We won, but it wasn’t easy. Tomorrow, we know we have to come out here and fight. Eliminate errors, and wake up the bats early. They (the Diamondbacks) are going to come back hungry.”

Edcouch-Elsa freshman pitcher Ocean Gomez was knocked around early, as Pioneer put up five runs in the first three innings. Gomez settled in later and only gave up one hit in the last four innings of regulation. In the eighth, Gomez gave way to reliever Aliyah Cerda, who closed out the game.

Pioneer struck first, scoring two runs off of three hits in the second inning. E-E responded with four runs of its own to take a 4-2 lead. But that only fueled the Diamondbacks, as they scored three more runs in the third inning to snatch back the lead, 5-4.

E-E added another run in the third to tie the game, and Pioneer edged out to a 6-5 lead in the top of the fifth when Sarah Odale doubled to drive in Alexia Hernandez. Both players went 2 for 4, and they combined to score five runs for Pioneer.

But the one-run lead proved to be not enough. The Yellow Jackets sent six batters to the plate in the seventh and got three hits and a run off a tiring Sparks, who faced 36 batters on the night.

The tie score after seven innings set up Mata’s heroics.

“It (the win) builds momentum. Like I told them, this happened to us last year, and someone can come back and win two, like we did,” E-E coach Ruth Flores said. “We just have to keep it going. They are going to make adjustments. We are going to have to make adjustments and keep playing as a team and keep fighting.”