FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
SINTON — Kayla! Kayla! Kayla! The large traveling contingency of Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats supporters continued the chant as Kayla Castaneda exited the gates at Sinton High School after hitting a walk-off home run that gave the Lady Cats at 1-0 victory over the Wimberley Lady Texans on Friday night in Game 1 of their regional semifinal series.
After 10 1/2 innings of scoreless play, Castaneda walked up to the plate and crushed the second pitch she saw out of the park, sending the Lady Bobcats into a frenzy.
However, Castaneda wasn’t thinking about swinging for the fences.
“All I could think of was getting a base hit and helping my team score a run, but nothing big,” said an excited Castaneda after the game. “Once I hit it though, I knew it was gone. I hit it right in the middle part (of the bat) and it was a high ball, and I love high balls.”
The home run was the second home run of the year for Castaneda.
With the win the Bobcats have a 1-0 series advantage with Game 2 set to begin at 5 p.m. today at Sinton High School.
“What a way to end it,” said Rio Hondo head softball coach Brett Esparza. “We had some key moments in the game where we stranded four or five key runners, but the girls’ perseverance was the final straw. We talked about it in practice and it was always going to be about who can grit it out.
“This was probably the greatest game I ever played in or coached in; boys or girls game, it didn’t matter. No matter what they (Wimberley) did, we found a way to get them out and no matter what we did they found a way to get us out.
“I hate to use the words destiny or fate, but somebody is looking out for us because everything just fell into place,” added Esparza.