By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — About the only thing left for McAllen Rowe to secure Tuesday was the No. 2 seed in District 30-6A.
So in the regular-season finale against La Joya High, the Lady Warriors came out blazing, crushing a two-run home run during the opening inning, stealing eight bases and allowing only two runs through the first four innings as they cruised to a 12-2 victory at La Joya ISD Stadium.
By finishing with a 9-3 district record, Rowe solidified itself as the runner-ups in district, with No. 3 going to McAllen High (7-4).
The Lady Warriors generated eight hits — highlighted by Krystal Ramos’ two-run home run on a 2-2 count — but got on base nine other times via walks. They scored twice on passing balls, once on a stolen base and another on a wild pitch as they ended the game in the sixth inning by way of mercy rule.
“Really proud of my girls, how we fought, how we played all season,” Rowe coach Ozzy Hernandez said. “But it’s like I told them: next season starts next week. It’s one-and-done; we lose and we’re out. So it’s like we said at the beginning of the year: we’re aiming for something bigger than the first round.”
Having completed its 12-game district schedule, Rowe will sit out the finale Friday, awaiting word on its bi-district opponent from 29-6A.
For now, Hernandez plans to give his players at least one day to rest after receiving an all-around effort from his team. They did it with Deanna Spear going 2-for-2 at the plate, with two doubles, two runs scored and three walks. She also stole three bases.
Madelyn Prukop, batting out of the seven spot, finished 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored.
And Ramos, who helped Rowe open a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning with her homer, improved to 6-3 in the circle after recording three strikeouts Tuesday. She allowed two runs on five hits between the final two innings, yielding seven all night.
Ramos surrendered only two hits through four innings.
“She was on from the very go-to,” Hernandez said. “Towards the end they started hitting on her, but I really like what I’ve seen from her these past few games.”
The game carried plenty of significance, as well, for La Joya High, which dropped to 5-6 in district. The Lady Coyotes needed to win to help their chances of securing the fourth and final playoff spot in 30-6A.
But following Tuesday’s 12-0 win over La Joya Juarez-Lincoln on Tuesday, Mission High (6-5 in district) gained a half-game edge over La Joya High heading into the final game of the season Friday.
Should Mission High, currently No. 4, and No. 5 La Joya High finish with identical district records, La Joya High would have the tiebreaker, given it swept the head-to-head series.
For that to happen, however, Mission would have to lose to district champion McAllen Memorial and La Joya High would have to beat Juarez-Lincoln, which is winless this year in district.
“When you lose a game that you need to win (such as Tuesday’s game), you need help now,” La Joya High coach Carlos Rodriguez said. “We’ll see what happens at the end of Friday.”
La Joya made a last-ditch effort to avoid a five-inning game Tuesday, scoring one run on three hits in the bottom of the inning, after struggling for much of the game at the plate.
Skylynn Solis, who finished 1-for-3, got her only hit of the night during that frame, eventually scoring off a single by Leslie Marron to cut it to 10-1. And then during the sixth, Monica Garcia, who went 2-for-3, scored from first off Sabrina Salinas’ double.
“From the first inning, it was catch-up all the way,” Rodriguez said, “and it was tough.”