BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
ALAMO — Edinburg Vela starting pitcher Naomi Reyes dealt with little trouble early in her Thursday morning start against PSJA Memorial, but she put herself into a pressure-packed, late-game situation in the afternoon.
The SaberCats were hanging on to a one-run lead while the Wolverines potential game-tying run stood at third base. Reyes was set to face PSJA Memorial No. 2 hitter Ely Elizondo and No. 3 hitter Chelsea Salinas with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“They were putting a lot of pressure on us, because they knew it was the last inning,” Reyes said. “I was feeling a little frustrated, and I just had to push through it.”
Reyes kept her composure, getting Elizondo to pop her bunt up to first and Salinas to fly out to end the game. The SaberCats kept things interesting but held on to down the Wolverines 5-4 on Thursday.
“Games like this are what make it tough to play spring break games in the morning,” Edinburg Vela coach Jon Maples said. “PSJA Memorial being a tough team doesn’t make it easier, either. They came back on us. (PSJA Memorial) Coach (Gilberto) Rodriguez’s team never quits.”
PSJA Memorial’s game plan changed early in the second inning. Though she was wearing a mask in the circle, starting pitcher Victoria Gonzalez was hit in the forehead by a line drive off the bat of Edinburg Vela’s Aly Cedillo. PSJA Memorial coaches, in addition to Maples, rushed to the circle to check on her.
After talking with Gonzalez, Rodriguez pulled her out of the game and replaced her with first baseman Chelsea Salinas, who pitched the game’s final 5 2/3 innings. Gonzalez returned in time for her first at-bat in the bottom of the second and took Salinas’ place in the field at first base to begin the third.
“Victoria’s a tough athlete,” Rodriguez said. “She wanted to come back out. She told me to give her an inning, and she’d be back out. I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And she said, ‘Yes, Coach.’ I believe in her and trust her willingness to be out there. She’s a big stick in the lineup and a big presence on our whole team.”
Edinburg Vela (19-3, 3-1) capitalized on several PSJA Memorial mistakes early in the game. The SaberCats’ scored their first two runs scored on separate errors to lead 2-0. Junior Amber Guerra added an RBI single in the third, helping Vela own a 4-1 lead through four innings.
The Wolverines (16-6, 2-2) mounted their comeback during the final two innings, capped by a two-run triple from leadoff hitter Kristy Alanis to make the score 5-4 in Vela’s favor during the seventh inning.
In the end, Reyes fought through more than fatigue to give the SaberCats the victory.
“My right leg was hurting,” Reyes said. “I had to let my defense work for me. I wasn’t trying to strike a lot of people out.”
“Her right hamstring has been hurting her a little bit, but she battled through,” Maples said. “She was dealing with it from the first inning on, but she didn’t want to come out of the game. She wanted this one. The girls had to back her up. As long as we stick together, we’ll be all right.”
Vela and Memorial were part of a four-way tie for second place in the district standings at 2-1 entering Thursday. The road won’t get much easier for the Wolverines, who will face perennial power Edinburg North and a much improved PSJA High team next week.
“Knowing now what we can do against a team like this is great experience,” Rodriguez said. “The kids said, ‘If we eliminated those early errors, we’d be ahead.’ But it starts with us. We need to do our part as a team to be as good as we think we can be.”