By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
The Sharyland Pioneer Lady Diamondbacks picked up an important road win against the Porter Cowgirls on Thursday.
Their 12-7 win in Game 1 gives them the edge in the best-of-three bi-district matchup.
The win can be credited to a dominating fourth inning in which Sharyland Pioneer sent 15 batters to the plate and added nine runs on seven hits, three walks and two errors. The scoring barrage gave the Lady Diamondbacks an 11-1 lead and effectively sealed the game.
“We came out with the game plan that we were going to play small ball, and the small ball worked for us,” Sharyland Pioneer coach Orlando Garcia said. “The girls executed very well and we think we’re very evenly matched with Porter, and we’re fortunate to get out of here with a win.”
The highlight of the inning was when the three players at the bottom of Sharyland Pioneer’s order — Ashley Briseno, Jayda Garcia and Fabiolaa Gonzalez — reached via singles before leadoff hitter Faye Ramos sent a 1-1 pitch over the left-center field wall for a grand slam.
“We were just waiting for some girls to get on base so we could start getting into our small-ball game,” Garcia said. “That was the plan from the very beginning, and once (Ramos hit a grand slam), that kind of opened up the floodgates for us.”
The following four batters reached base as well, and each scored runs before the first out of the inning was recorded.
Brooke Garza scored her second run of the inning with two outs, then, after the bases were again loaded, Emily Michki flew out to right field for the final out of the frame.
Though the inning was a rough one for pitcher Sabrina Garcia, Porter coach Ariel Arredondo stuck with her veteran.
“She’s my ace, she’s my senior,” she said. “If I’m going to win it, I’m going to win it on her back. If I’m going to lose it, I’m going to lose it on her.”
Porter battled back from an 11-1 deficit and scored runs during three of the next four innings. Danielle Sanchez and Krista Quiroz crossed home plate during the bottom of the fourth. The Cowgirls were retired in order in the fifth, but Sanchez and Quiroz added another pair of runs during the sixth.
“That’s the fight that they have, that’s the fighting team that we are,” Arredondo said. “That’s the fighting team that they should have been from the first inning. Those are the girls that I have,those are the girls that Porter has. It doesn’t matter what the score is, or regardless if it’s 0-0, every inning they’re going to come up and make things happen, but it just didn’t happen until the end.”
Brissa Rivera and Karla Sosa led off the seventh with singles and eventually rounded the bases, but with Sabrina Garcia stranded on third, three Porter batters were retired in order and the comeback attempt fell short.
“I was very proud of them and the fight that they put up at the end,” Arredondo said. “We went down swinging at the end, and for that, I was proud. We had some shining moments, we strung up some hits, it’s just with errors and thoughtless thinking, youcan’t win.”
The series shifts to Sharyland Pioneer, where the teams will face off at 7 tonight in Game 2.
“We get it at home now,” Garcia said. “I told the girls this is a great opportunity to play in front of the home crowd and finish off the series. It’s a two-out-of-three series, so no matter what, the worst-case scenario is that we’ve got two games, but hopefully we can finish it up (today).”
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.