By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Playing three games in a little more than 24 hours did little to slow down PSJA High.
In fact, the Lady Bears felt rejuvenated after beating Mission Veterans 6-1 on Saturday to play the Lady Patriots once again later that afternoon. With the best-of-three series tied at one game apiece, the Lady Bears put up three runs in the sixth inning to close out their bi-district battle with a 4-1 win in Game 3.
“I think after (Friday) night’s loss, we knew we were a better team than what we left on the field, so they came out ready,” PSJA coach Theresa Thibodeaux said of her team. “They said after (Friday) night’s game, we were going 14 innings. That’s what it was going to take.”
The implication was that PSJA was going to force a decisive third game. They did that, winning a series for the first time in the program’s history, to advance to the area round, where they’ll face Corpus Christi Moody later this week.
“We were more motivated to win because we wanted to go to the second round,” said Marisol Liserio, the team’s only senior. “The momentum (of winning Game 2) really helped us win that third game. I really believe that.”
The game was tied at 1-1 going into the sixth inning before PSJA scored three runs to put the game away. Hannah Martinez singled to get on base. Myranda Garza got on following an error on the Mission Vets shortstop. After a single by Jackie Arevalo to load the bases, Valeria Gonzalez, the ninth batter in the lineup, tripled to bring home her teammates.
“Ever since we were freshmen, we wanted to make history and we’re finally doing it. It feels great,” said Gonzalez, the junior pitcher who was in the circle for both games Saturday. “(Friday) it felt like it was just a warm-up game, (but) it’s a series. We felt it should be our series, and that’s the beauty of softball (in the playoffs). It doesn’t matter (losing the first game).”
PSJA set the tone early in Game 2, putting up three runs in the first inning. It never trailed. And after a 30-minute break, Game 3 got under way.
The Lady Patriots went with pitcher Alysson Moreno in each of the three games, going the distance each time.
Mission Vets coach Vivian Ray declined to comment afterward.
Her team rallied in the second half of district to win all six games — a noteworthy accomplishment considering all the games were on the road due to weather issues, namely wet fields. They picked up the No. 2 seed in District 31-5A, right behind Edinburg Vela, which had only one loss during the regular season.
But in the bi-district roundup, they came up short in closing out against the third seed in District 32-5A.
“They were up for it,” Thibodeaux said about her team. “They were ready to battle and they showed up to play.”