By MARK MOLINA | The Brownsville Herald
Like last season, the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers find themselves one step away from the program’s first ever Region IV-5A softball tournament after a strong start to the postseason.
Last season, they ran into a wall that was Tuloso-Midway and fell during a two-game sweep.
And while the Lady Chargers hope to avoid the same fate as they open their best-of-three series against the Corpus Christi Carroll Lady Tigers tonight at 6 p.m. at home, they won’t have the memories of last season weighing on them.
“We really don’t think about last season too much,” Lady Chargers head coach Rayner Cardenas said. “It’s a new team with new goals and new girls stepping up that weren’t a part of that last year. We learned our lesson in how we approached those games last year and how we played in them. At the same time, we understand that last year was last year and this year is this year.”
Game 2 will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at Cabaniss Field in Corpus Christi and Game 3, if necessary, will start 30 minutes after Game 2.
After bouncing Gregory-Portland in a sweep last week, the Brownsville Veterans draw another team from District 30-5A in Carroll.
Like the Lady Chargers, the Lady Tigers come in to the series with a pair of sweeps under their belt after disposing of Eagle Pass Winn in bi-district and Mission Veterans Memorial in the area round.
Carroll has been solid at the plate in these playoffs, hitting .347 as a team led by Samantha Gaona and Lindsey Evans.
Gaona is 8 for 12 in the post season with 10 RBIs, while Evans is 6 for 9 with five RBIs.
As a team, they have seven players hitting .311 or better, making it a tough out for the Brownsville Veterans pitching duo of Cassie Valdez and Mia Anzaldua, who have looked dominant in four post season games.
Anzaldua has struck out 27 batters and allowed just five hits and two earned runs in two games for a 0.59 ERA.
The junior pitcher has put up big numbers despite a lack of familiarity with postseason teams and a lot of that has to do with the defense behind her.
“We played not knowing much about these teams, so we went in there with the mentality that we would end up winning,” Anzaldua said. “Our defense has been solid, so you just get comfortable and relax because you don’t want to pitch tense. As a defensive player, you don’t want to be tense, you just want to feel comfortable and relaxed.”
Valdez, meanwhile, has struck out 20 batters and also allowed five hits for a 0.58 ERA in two games and managed to play her way out of a rough second inning in Game 2 against G-P where she allowed a home run and allowed three runs to score.
For the senior, the moment helped strengthen the team coming into a big series.
“It showed we can trust each other in that if one doesn’t perform, then the team has their back,” Valdez said. “We can just work as a team and that’s how it should be. We don’t what to expect, but we’re going to stick to our game and whatever they throw at us, we’re going to show that we have a backbone and perform the way we have been.”
Cardenas said the pressure both pitchers put on themselves are what has carried the team over the last three seasons they have played together on the varsity.
“I give a lot of credit to those two girls,” he said. “They have carried us since they got here. They understand the significance of the series and the history that is at stake. They seem to get stronger and pitch better and understand that their teammates are behind them. They feel like they don’t want to let them down. I’m amazed on how well they’ve pitched the more difficult the series is.”
As for Carroll, Vanessa Quiroga has been the cornerstone of their pitching staff. She has struck out 35 batters in 24 innings this postseason, allowing eight earned runs, 12 hits and has a 2.84 ERA this season.
The Lady Chargers have been solid at the plate, posting 46 runs on 41 hits for a cumulative batting average of .369. Christina Gonzalez is 4 for 5 in four games with a home run and two RBIS, while Liz Abete is one of three players with seven hits in the postseason, going 7 for 10 in the postseason with four RBIs and no strikeouts.
“It’s a team thing that involves a lot of practice,” Abete said of the team’s hitting. “We’ve progressed a lot. We’re really getting a long as a team and communicating more. We’re just on fire, honestly. It’s our coaches that push us and motivate us — it’s a great thing. We’re prepared for (Carroll). We know what we’re up against. It’s two good, quality teams going against each other. It’s going to be great and we’re excited.”