BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
Donna High’s path to the postseason was a daunting one.
Its three remaining games of the regular season were at Brownsville Lopez, the No. 4 seed in District 32-5A at game time, at Mercedes, the No. 2 seed on Tuesday, and a pesky Valley View team Thursday primed for the role as potential spoiler.
While the Brownsville Lopez game was going to decide Donna’s playoff fate this week, the start time was delayed an hour because umpires weren’t scheduled for the game.
“We needed to go into that game with a tough mindset,” Donna High coach Adrian Lopez said. “They (Brownsville Lopez) are tough to beat at home. It’s a hostile environment. I was kind of worried in the beginning because the umpires didn’t show up on time. I was worried that our kids were going to come out a little flat, but the more I looked at them, the more I knew they were ready to go. We just had to play smart softball. We had to hit the ball and limit our mistakes. We only made one error in that ballgame.”
Donna High downed Brownsville Lopez 7-3, which moved it into a tie for fourth place with the Lobos. Because both teams lost on Tuesday, Donna had to win its finale and for Mercedes to beat Brownsville Lopez in order to qualify for the postseason.
The Tigers did their part by defeating the Lobos, but Donna went to extra innings against Valley View. The game was tied going into the bottom of the ninth. Donna High got a leadoff triple from Anaisa Orozco. After Orozco, Yzella Perez stepped up and drilled a sharp liner to shortstop that was bobbled. That was all Orozco needed to score the winning run and give Donna a heart-pounding 6-5 victory.
The win clinched Donna its first playoff appearance in program history. The softball program began at Donna in 2002.
“They (Valley View) gave us all we could handle,” said Lopez, who is in his seventh season leading the program. “In the end, we came through and won the game. The kids worked hard and they earned the opportunity to get in.”
Donna (15-14, 7-7) will take on District 31-5A champion PSJA Memorial (23-6-1, 14-0) in a one-game playoff at 7 p.m. Thursday at PSJA Memorial.