By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
PORT ISABEL — The Port Isabel Lady Tarpons hit the field and turned in a solid defensive effort with few mistakes, but Zapata Lady Hawks pitcher Selene Garza was perfect.
Garza tossed a gem, striking out 15 batters on her way to a perfect game and lifting the Lady Hawks to a 3-0 District 32-4A victory over the Lady Tarpons on Tuesday night in Port Isabel.
The loss puts Port Isabel (16-10, 9-2) in a tie for second place with Zapata (17-5, 9-2), though both teams already have clinched a playoff spot.
Garza struck out 11 of her first 12 batters before entering the fifth inning, when she realized she was near a perfect game despite having no run support.
“I think the announcer actually announced it and I thought, ‘Wow, I’m almost going to pitch a perfect game,'” she said. “In the seventh, I got more nervous with just three more outs to go. I was getting nervous because we would put runners on but we couldn’t come through with our bats, but finally we did score a few runs, so that helped us out. Port Isabel is a good team, and a game like this shows me I am good and it makes me want to keep going.”
With two outs and the bases loaded during the top of the sixth inning, Lady Hawks sophomore Kiveli Munoz put the ball in play for what looked like a routine forceout at first for the Lady Tarpons.
Instead, the Lady Tarpons’ infield sent the throw home, where it bounced off the helmet of Zapata’s Serena Pena, allowing her and teammate Kaelyn Gonzalez to come in on the error and make it 2-0.
“Defensively, tonight, we made one mistake basically the whole night,” Port Isabel coach Danno Wise said. “The rest of the game, the girls worked their way out of some jams. The girls did a good job of getting out of holes without giving up runs and keeping their composure, and fighting through it. Defensively, we did an excellent job.”
The miscue was the lone mistake for the Port Isabel defense that bent but didn’t break through the first five innings. Zapata stranded six batters during that span (eight for the game), which included leaving the bases loaded in the top third inning.
Wise expects his team to not only run into situations like the one that ultimately cost them the game going forward but to learn from them.
“In that situation, we’re going to make the play at (first base),” he said. “I said, ‘Forget about it now, but remember for next time. We’re going to play more big games and that situation will come up again.’ So that’s what we’re doing right now, learning from those things.”
Zapata added an insurance run during the top of the seventh on an RBI single from Pena, bringing in Kristyn Ramirez to make it 3-0.
Port Isabel pitcher Vivi Cantu had a solid night in the circle despite the loss, tossing five shutout innings with 10 hits and one strikeout.