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.