PHARR — PSJA North is one of the hottest softball teams in the Rio Grande Valley entering the final game of the season.
The Raiders showed no signs of cooling down as they enter the playoffs with an 11-0 win over McAllen Rowe on Friday night to clinch at least a share of the District 31-5A title.
The Sharyland High-Sharyland Pioneer game, the other piece of the District 31-5A title puzzle, was postponed due to the weather. A Sharyland Pioneer win seals the tie for first, but with a loss the title is handed to the Raiders.
The Raiders’ lovely turf field saved the day after a storm rolled through the Valley in the afternoon, but by the time 7 p.m. rolled around it was clear skies for game time. Multiple games across the Valley had to be postponed.
“We started off a little bit slow,” Raiders head coach Stephanie Lugo said. “I think it was the emotions built up from the rain, hail, all the elements of the weather and senior night — everything building up to this day. I think our girls might have started late, but they did their job and came out swinging in that third and fourth inning.”
The Raiders started kicking the door down during the third inning and ripped through it in the fourth.
Outfielder Eileen Reyna started things off with a bunt. Catcher Haley Martinez did the same, and Reyna scored on an error. Martinez also scored on multiple errors on Krissy Luera’s hit to an infielder. The Raiders were really aggressive when running bases, stretching singles to doubles and doubles to triples.
“That is our thing,” Lugo said. “I instill in them that speed kills. If we have girls on base, we need to get them in somehow and some way, so we are always going to be aggressive no matter what.”
The heart of the lineup cranked out single after single as the Raiders scored six runs in the fourth after posting three in the third. PSJA North scored a run during the first and second innings.
Raiders pitcher Hailey Garza did not give up a hit until the top of the fourth. Garza struck out three in third and two in the first, and shut things down in the fifth to help clinch a third straight district title.
“I did not feel like it was my best,” Garza said. “I still came out and did what I needed to do for my team. I knew my team had my back.”
After the game the Raiders drenched Lugo in cold water, payback for ice baths, Lugo said.
“Everybody said this group of girls could not do it,” Lugo said. “I am glad that they showed up this season. Yes, our first district game we may have lost, but they built every game after that and got better every single game. They did their job to come back on top and prove everybody wrong.”
If Sharyland Pioneer wins today, it meets PSJA North at 5 p.m. Monday at Sharyland Pioneer in a battle for the No. 1 seed.