By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Seeing as how his team struggled to generate much offense Friday, Edinburg High coach Jesse Banda came away from their opening loss wishing he had instructed his players to bunt more.
So when the Lady Bobcats returned home Saturday, they heeded his advice, igniting back-to-back wins over McAllen Memorial to win their Class 6A area round series 2-1.
“We just put more pressure on them,” Banda said. “We were trying to play the small(-ball) game. Bunt on base, move them over. (Friday) I felt we didn’t do that. I felt bad. So I said, if we could jump start early, it’s going to help us because it’s hard to come back like we did.
“So we’re going to have to work on being more focused on that getting the first game going forward.”
Edinburg High (24-8) cruised to a 9-0 win in Game 2 before pounding 15 hits in Game 3 to win 13-0 in six innings. Dezi Marmolejo pitched the latter two games, allowing only four hits in the final game heading into the sixth, as the Lady Bobcats secured their second straight trip to the regional quarterfinals.
“We felt really confident,” Marmolejo said. “I had my defense there, our bats were coming through. We didn’t really have them Friday. But we came out and played stronger than we did, and it turned out pretty good.”
With two out and two on, Marmolejo crushed a home run to left field, giving her team a 5-0 lead. She finished the game 2-for-3 at the plate, with two runs, four RBIs and a walk.
Amber Reyes, the lead off hitter, also came up big. She went 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.
“The girls were fired up all day,” Banda said. “Our bats came alive. Yesterday we swung at bad pitches, and today we came down and started hitting and making plays.”
Banda said his plan was let Marmolejo go as long as her arm permitted in Game 3, but “she got stronger and stronger as the game went on, so I just went with the hot hand.”
The Lady Bobcats will now look to the third round, where they will take on Weslaco High. The Lady Panthers swept their season against Eagle Pass.
On Saturday, Edinburg High had four instances in Game 3 in which it drove in two or more runs at one time. The third-inning homer set things in motion, and then Kayla Contreras doubled to right field to drive in Marmolejo and Natalie Rodriguez for the final runs.
“Edinburg’s a team that can come back in any situation, any deficit,” McAllen Memorial coach Audra Benavidez said. “So our players knew they had to perform, but today (Edinburg High was) the better team.”
The loss ended McAllen Memorial’s season after going 24-6, including an 11-1 record in 30-6A play for the program’s first-ever district title.
The Lady Mustangs reached the third round of the playoffs last year, but fell short against San Benito on its way to the state semifinals.