KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star
SAN BENITO — Senior Deztiny Hernandez got Parents Night off with a bang by swatting a solo home run and opened the door for a five-run first inning as the San Benito Lady Hounds routed Brownsville Rivera 17-1 in four innings Friday night.
“It’s always emotional when you have Parents Night, especially for the seniors,” said San Benito coach Denise Lira. “The kids kept their composer and enjoyed the night, and right after that we did some warm-ups that got them re-focused, and tonight they did an excellent job at the plate.”
There was no shortage of offense for the Lady Hounds as they swatted 20 hits.
After the five-run first, the hits kept coming. In the bottom of the second inning, San Benito batted around and plated seven more runs. Both April and Sarah Garcia drove in runs to make it 8-0 San Benito after two.
Four Lady Hounds finished with three hits each. Audrey Huerta went 3 for 4 with two runs, Hernandez went 3 for 4 with two runs, Aaliyah Rangel finished 3 for 4 with a run and an RBI, and AJ Jasso also went 3 for 4 with one run and four RBIs.
“It’s an emotional night for us seniors; this has been such a great year for us,” Huerta said. “Right now we’re playing well and are having fun; our chemistry is great. As a leadoff (hitter), I try and just get on base, and in the outfield I do my best to back up my pitcher.”
ON DECK: With the win, San Benito pushed its win streak to six in a row and improved to 9-1 in District 32-6A, setting up a rematch next week with league-leading Harlingen South, which won Friday against Brownsville Hanna. The Lady Hawks are 10-0 and the two will tussle at 7 p.m. Tuesday at South.
“We will have practice tomorrow and we have done a good job of taking it one day at a time,” Lira said. “We will enjoy this win tonight, but it’s back to work the next day. It’s important for us to keep focused because we have two days to prepare for South. We are not worried about what is across the field, we’re worried about ourselves and that is what is going to keep us on track, to control the things we can control.”