SAN DIEGO — Lyford’s Trinity Villalobos and Jourdanton’s Hailey Sralik were in a pitchers’ duel Thursday night for a spot in the Region IV-3A final.
Sralik bested Villalobos 3-1 in the Region IV-3A semifinal to eliminate Lyford from the playoffs at San Diego High School.
“We knew it was going to be a close game,” Lyford head coach Albert Garza said. “We knew the type of pitcher that they have, so we just neeeded to execute. We left a few runners on base and should have executed to bring those runners in. Maybe I could have done something different. That is one I am going to look at on film.”
A home run by Sralik during the bottom of the sixth inning and two runs in the fifth from plays at the plate tripped up Lyford in the one-game playoff.
“We fell apart a little bit after that,” Villalobos said. “We could not get the wheels going again, but it is fine.”
Villalobos was pitching a superb game before the Jourdanton Squaws’ offense had their breakthrough in the fifth inning. Villalobos had nine strikeouts and allowed one hit the first four innings.
Lyford freshman Danae Garcia drove in the only run of the night for the Bulldogs. Garcia’s RBI double drove in leadoff hitter Victoria Lopez after Lopez picked up a two-out single.
Lyford’s season ends in the same round as 2022. The Bulldogs picked up a District 32-3A title, Class 3A area-round victory and a Region IV quarterfinal win in 2023.
“The season was successful,” Villalobos said. “We started slow and kept building. These girls keep fighting and wanting to play. It was a fun season for me and the team.”
Garza is appreciative of the experience his young team received from this season, he said. The Bulldogs return 11 of 14 players next season. Nine were underclassmen this season.
“In reality, this was supposed to be a rebuild because we lost six seniors,” Garza said. “Six starters, girls that are leaders and are off playing college right now. We turned a lot of heads. Trinity made a lot of believers, and the team as well. So we are excited about next year. My assistant coaches did a really good job of keeping the girls on track. We have a good bunch of girls for next year.”