By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
LAREDO — After rallying to force Game 3 on Saturday, Edinburg North succumbed to the very pitfalls that put it in that predicament in the first place.
Leaving nine runners on base — including a full set loaded during the fifth inning — the Lady Cougars struggled to maintain their early lead or rally late, closing out their season with a 5-3 loss to New Braunfels Canyon in the Class 6A regional semifinals.
Edinburg North was one of two Valley teams still alive in the postseason Friday, when it made its fourth trip to the fourth round of the playoffs. It fell behind in Game 1, after missed opportunities on offense and costly errors on defense. And Saturday, matters played out much the same, even in a triumphant Game 2.
Up 4-3, the Lady Cougars left three runners on base during the seventh inning, but were able to survive after retiring the final three Canyon batters. In Game 3, however, those missed runs cost Edinburg North, which saw a 3-0 lead during the top of the third inning evaporate at Laredo ISD Zachry Softball Complex.
After opening a 2-0 edge in the top of the first, Edinburg North (32-9) struggled to manufacture much of anything on offense. The Lady Cougars went hitless the rest of the way, and Canyon pitcher Brooke Vestal went on to record nine strikeouts in a win.
What’s more, Edinburg North surrendered all four runs during the fourth inning — all coming with Canyon down two outs — and eight hits in total.
“We should’ve won this game (3), but poor defense there,” Lady Cougars coach Richard Tressler said. “We broke up a couple times defensively, and gave them some unearned runs that they shouldn’t have gotten.
“And you can’t do that at this level of play or this level of playoffs or it’s going to beat you, and it did. That coupled by what I told you last night, leaving people on base. That’s the bottom line.”
With two outs in the third inning, Canyon’s Jude Padilla drove in Savana Luna to slice it 3-1 for Canyon. Moments later, after a hit to centerfield, Edinburg North threw to third base in what would have been a third out. But because the umpires ruled that Edinburg North prevented a Canyon player’s pathway to second base, the bases were loaded.
In the next at-bat, Paige Meloni singled to left field, driving in two runs to put Canyon ahead for good.
Jackie Longoria, who pitched all three games for North, was tagged with a loss after lifting her team to a 4-3 win in Game 2.
“She’s a battler,” Tressler said. “She’s a great kid. Works hard. Deserved to win both those games (Saturday), and our defense folded up behind her. We made poor defensive decisions and didn’t come through offensively when we should have, with people in scoring position. That’s the bottom line.
“It’s a very simple game. You got to score the people that you have on base, and you can’t give them anything. And we did both of those things.”
Longoria’s counterpart, Vestal, also pitched the entire series. She yielded eight walks, including four during the third inning that loaded the bases and gave Edinburg North an unearned run to open a 3-0 lead.
Vestal also came through with a strikeout during the fifth inning that led to a half-swing by Maria Garza, resulting in a third out with three on for Edinburg North.
“There was a little concern,” Canyon coach Kevin Randle said. “I mean, they had the bases loaded, and we were talking about how much longer do we keep her? Is it one more run? It got to the point where it was one more walk, we’ll make the change. But she got out of the inning, and the next inning it was the same thing.
“And so we were close, but the kid’s a battler. I don’t know what you could say about her, she’s a tough kid and she’s able to get out of those situations.”
The loss for Edinburg North dampened any hope of an all-Valley regional semifinal, after Weslaco High rallied to beat Corpus Christi Carroll on the road Saturday.
“It was exhausting,” Randle said of his series against North. “We got what we expected. We knew they were good. We knew after (Friday) night they were going to be able to come out and really get after us, and they did.
“They battled us all the way to the end. Proud of our kids for finally getting momentum and taking charge late. But give their team credit. They made it really tough for us.”