BISHOP — The whole Mercedes team gathered behind home plate, dancing and pumping up the fans who made the two-hour trip for an area-round series with Gregory-Portland prior to Game 3.
The Tigers then took their at-bats and exploded offensively to win Game 3 against Gregory-Portland 23-1 after being shut down in Game 2, losing 3-1 in the early game.
Mercedes, now Class 5A area-round winners, face Corpus Christi Carroll in a Class 5A regional quarterfinal series or game next week.
It was a stark contrast to Game 2, when the Tigers scored a run during the first inning and then not again until Game 3. Errors defensively and an absent offense forced the third game Saturday at Bishop High School’s softball field.
“We just could not get things to go our way,” Mercedes head coach Kristy Leal said. “Offensively, that was not us. I knew we were going to catch a break because these kids are relentless.”
Mercedes did it without power hitter and pitcher Zelinda Camacho not hitting. Gregory-Portland opted to walk Camacho after she nearly went deep in the first inning of Game 2.
Next up in the lineup after Camacho is Ashley De Leon. The sophomore catcher drove in seven runs during her first three at-bats of Game 3 to help put the Tigers up 10-0. De Leon added an eighth RBI in the top of the fifth.
“It just gave me motivation to do it for Zel and my other teammates — just have her back,” De Leon said.
Designated hitter Rhianna Sierra drove in four runs, including two in the top of the fourth. The Tigers scored eight runs in the inning. Lindsey Lopez started the inning with a home run and came back up to the plate to hit a RBI double.
The Tigers added five more runs in the top of the fifth to make it 23-1.
“These kids have been tested in I do not know how many district games,” Leal said. “They prevailed in most of them, we won the district championship. I knew that they were going to be relentless, come out, figure it out and they did. They fought until the end.”
Corpus Christi Carroll, also the Tigers, defeated Weslaco East in Corpus Christi on Saturday to set up the third-round meeting with Mercedes.
“District 29-5A is tough,” Leal said. “We always look forward to getting them, but everyone is beatable in the playoffs. It is about who shows up and continues to fight. These kids want it.”