BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
KINGSVILLE — Edinburg Vela and San Antonio Warren entered Game 1 of their Class 6A regional semifinal series in similar positions. Neither team had ever reached this juncture of the postseason in program history.
At the end of Friday’s game, the young Warriors showed the championship-level poise needed to hold off the SaberCats 4-1 at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
“We battled, because (San Antonio) Warren is a great team defensively,” Edinburg Vela coach Jon Maples said. “We knew coming in that we couldn’t give them extra outs. At the same time, we had our opportunities to get some runs in. Sometimes, that’s how the game goes.”
The SaberCats and Warriors ended the night with seven hits apiece, but Vela’s normally air-tight defense committed five errors.
Warren threatened with a runner at third and nobody out in the fourth, but Edinburg Vela pitcher Naomi Reyes got the next three Warriors out to end the frame.
Warren finally capitalized against Reyes in the fifth inning. Warren third baseman Lauryn Hernandez hit her second of two doubles on the night to begin the frame. Cassie Davis, the Warriors’ left-handed No. 9 hitter, drove in Hernandez with a double of her own to get the scoring started.
San Antonio Warren (26-5) tagged Reyes for three more runs on three more hits in the inning.
“I was missing my spots, combined with some miscommunication in the outfield,” Reyes said. “One of the girls that got on base (in the fourth) wasn’t supposed to get on. I just missed that pitch. But I need to be more consistent with hitting my corners (in Game 2). I would get ahead and then throw the ball a little bit closer to the zone, and then they’d get a hit. Those are things that I need to work on.”
“They (Warren) were coming through the lineup for the third time against Moni (Reyes),” Maples said. “It’s one of those things where they started seeing Naomi’s stuff, and they made some adjustments. They’re here for a reason.”
Offensively, the SaberCats didn’t mount their first serious charge until the fifth, when they advanced a runner to third base but couldn’t push her across the plate. Edinburg Vela put two runners on with two outs and was stifled yet again by Warren freshman pitcher Annika Litterio.
Litterio had nine strikeouts through her first six innings of work.
“Annika had a lot more pop in her pitches tonight,” Maples said. “When we saw her on Saturday (against San Antonio O’Connor), she didn’t have as much pop. We really worked her. She used a lot of pitches. I told my team, even if you don’t win, make sure you make her work for it.”
The SaberCats faced a 4-0 deficit entering the seventh as Litterio began to labor toward the finish line. Vela’s Kameryn Casares singled with one out but was erased on an Alyssa Cedillo fielder’s choice. Julia Cordon and Alyssa Alaniz followed Cedillo with back-to-back singles to load the bases.
Leadoff hitter Gabby Villarreal then drew a walk to plate a run and cut the lead to three. The next batter was Evan Perez, already 2 for 3 against Litterio, with a chance to slice into the Warriors’ lead.
“She throws really well,” Perez said. “My approach was to wait for a strike and go from there. I didn’t want the moment to be too tense. I wanted to just play the game. Whatever happens, happens.”
Perez struck out to end the game.
“We need to make adjustments in our next game by staying off her riseball and not chase it,” Perez said.
First pitch of Game 2 will be at noon today from Hubert Field on the Texas A&M-Kingsville campus. If the SaberCats (32-7) win, a winner-take-all Game 3 will take place 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2.
“The girls battled and finished on a good note,” Maples said. “We’re preparing for a long day. We’ve got some momentum going in. We’re going to bring our sunscreen and go to work.”