SAN BENITO — The winningest softball coach in the Rio Grande Valley, Elias Martinez, is leading the San Benito Greyhounds to the show again.
The 643-win Martinez and his team do not have an easy opponent, in the dugout or on the field when they play today. The Greyhounds (40-5) meet the Pearland Oilers (39-3) in the Class 6A state semifinal at 4 p.m. at Red & Charline McCombs Field at the University of Texas in Austin.
San Benito was given a No. 2 ranking by the Texas Girls Coaching Association in its Class 6A state softball poll very early in the season. Rankings at the beginning of the season are given, but at the end of the season they are earned.
Martinez said way back in March, after the Greyhounds defeated Brownsville Hanna 15-0 to open District 32-6A, that his team deserves its ranking. San Benito proved it by making it all the way to the final four.
Martinez then said if a team from the Valley was going to do it in softball, win a state championship, it was going to be San Benito.
This Greyhounds team is special. Two great pitchers, a lineup that can play small ball and can smack home runs out of the park with ease, and a defense that is very stingy. Emily Delgado and Amira Rodriguez steal the headlines at times with terrific showings in the circle and clutch hitting, but the whole team can play.
Despite this being Martinez’s third trip to state with a Greyhounds team, Pearland’s dugout has the more experienced head coach. Pearland’s Laneigh Clark has guided the Oilers to five state appearances and one state title in 2010. Clark has 686 wins in Texas softball and is the winningest coach in Class 6A history.
On the field, Texas A&M signee Hailey Golden is a player to watch. The Oilers outfielder is batting .512 coming into the state tournament.
It is hard to get film on Pearland, Martinez said Wednesday as his team had a hitting practice early in the day before a pep rally in the evening. It was a similar situation before they played San Antonio East Central in the regional final, but the longtime coach stuck with an old saying.
“You have to dot your Ts and cross your Is,” he said.
The Greyhounds have to play their game.
“They are all good,” Martinez said. “It is going to be a great tournament. One thing that they can expect from us is that we are not going to quit. We are going to fight, and that is what Lady ‘Hounds softball is. We do not quit, and we fight to the bitter end.”