KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star
HARLINGEN — The 2017 postseason was one for the books for the Harlingen South Lady Hawks softball team.
A year later, South has found itself back in the playoffs for a third straight year under head coach Elias Martinez.
The Lady Hawks finished second in District 32-6A with a 12-2 record and concluded the regular season by winning two straight. They now have their sights set on PSJA Memorial in the 6A bi-district round.
“The girls have been upbeat and we’re playing with confidence, and that is the name of the game at this point in the season,” said Coach Martinez. “We’re in a do-or-die situation. You win and you move on. You lose and you don’t move on. I have told the girls they need to bring their A-game because we don’t know when our last game will be.”
PSJA Memorial finished with a 10-4 league record out of District 31-6A and will travel to Harlingen South on Thursday for Game 1 of the best-of-3 series. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Game 2 is at PSJA Memorial on Friday, also at 7. And, if needed, Game 3 will be at South at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
“It’s day two of practice week and we all have been working hard,” said senior Kaitlynn De La Fuente. “We’re crossing all our T’s and dotting all the I’s just like Coach Martinez says and we are putting our work in.”
De La Fuente, whose first position is in center field, stepped into the pitcher’s circle and became the team’s ace after starter Daisy Gallegos went down with an injury earlier this season. She has shined in the circle and at the plate as a key part to the Lady Hawks’ offense where she bats at the top of the order.
“Having playoff experience helps us out a lot because we know what it’s like to make the playoffs and go on playoff runs. That helps us stay mentally tough,” De La Fuente said. “Right now I feel good. It was a long season, but we’re not done yet. We just need to stay strong throughout the week.”
Defensive specialist and fellow senior Caitlyn Hejl has also thrived at the third base spot for the Lady Hawks and is ready for one final postseason run.
“Having Kait (De La Fuente) on the mound helps with what she can do inside the circle,” Hejl said. “Defensively, we have worked on some things to help us get ready. I do everything I can to stay mentally prepared, but it’s the hot corner and I do my best to make the routine plays. Our district was tough this year and each week was a battle, and that has helped us prepare for the playoffs.”
TEACHER VERSUS STUDENT: Elias Martinez is familiar with PSJA Memorial head coach Gilly Rodriguez as Rodriguez served as an assistant under Martinez in San Benito for five years from 2010-15 and made the UIL state tournament twice together.
Rodriguez is in his third year at the helm at PSJA Memorial and has guided the Lady Wolverines to the postseason in each of his first three years.
“It’s always fun to be in the playoffs, even more so when you go against one of your old coaches,” Martinez said. “It’s good to see them (PSJA Memorial) in the playoffs. They do some things that we did in San Benito and that we do here at South, and both have been successful. I’m happy to see him (Coach Rodriguez) doing well. We had good times together in San Benito and we won a lot.”