BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
WESLACO — The two programs responsible for the Valley’s three all-time appearances in the state semifinals met on Tuesday for the first time as members of the same district: 32-6A. The first of two regular-season matchups went to San Benito (15-4), which held on to a 3-2 win over Weslaco High (15-3) at Weslaco’s softball field. San Benito’s victory forced a tie for first place in the standings, with both clubs sporting 5-1 records in District 32-6A competition.
Lady Greyhounds coach Kristy Leal’s focus was not on tying the Lady Panthers in the standings at this juncture in the season.
“The importance, for my kids, was to keep the intensity up and to make big plays,” Leal said. “Everybody knows Weslaco puts the ball in play, and we needed to make plays. We also got timely hitting. My kids had to wake up those bats and get it going.”
San Benito got the scoring underway in the top of third. After leadoff hitter Sarah Garcia doubled, Deztiny Hernandez lined a hit to shallow left-center field. Garcia was unable to score as the play came back to third base quickly. Using her speed, Hernandez advanced to second on the throw to third. Alina Jasso stepped to the plate next and grounded a ball to shortstop, but Weslaco’s Alyssa Escamilla could not corral it, causing both Lady Greyhounds to score. Later that inning, Meagan Ybarra drove in Jasso with a single to make it 3-0.
Garcia was nails on the hill early for the Lady Greyhounds. In her first four innings, Garcia allowed only one hit and struck out four Lady Panthers. She gave up a run in the fifth on a fielder’s choice by Helen Gonzalez and allowed a run-scoring single to Audrey Escamilla in the sixth. Armed with her screwball, curveball and riser, the sophomore right-hander shut down the Weslaco rally with a scoreless seventh.
“I just wanted to go batter-by-batter, stay relaxed and trusted my defense that they’ll have my back,” Garcia said.
With two of the best softball teams the Valley has to offer, Garcia expected a close game.
“I expected it to be low-scoring,” Garcia said. “We’re both talented teams, and we were both training for this challenging game. I knew it’d be close.”
Weslaco committed five errors on Tuesday night. Coach Mario Rodriguez readily admits his club didn’t come out the way he wanted it to.
“We stayed close, but it’s probably not the best that we’ve played,” Rodriguez said. “Credit them (San Benito) – they put some pressure on us as far as the base running is concerned. But we gave ourselves a chance at the end, and that’s all that you can really ask from our kids. We just fell a little short.”
Leal understood it would take more than talent alone for her team to go on the road and beat an opponent like Weslaco.
“They needed to be confident,” Leal said. “They know their potential and the way that they needed to play. They needed a lot of confidence to come in here, and I think that’s what they had. They brought their intensity, and that’s what got the job done.”