FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff writer
KINGSVILLE — After a rough Game 1 loss to the Odem Lady Owls on Friday, Santa Rosa head coach Erica Molina wanted nothing more than for her girls to come out fighting in Game 2.
And they did, as the Lady Warriors erupted for four runs in their first five at-bats to take 4-0 lead in the first innings.
Unfortunately for Santa Rosa, Odem head coach Melissa Vela quickly subbed out her Game 2 starting pitcher and instead went back to her junior ace Mia Auster, who quickly retired the side and rallied the Lady Owls to a 9-4 Class 3A area-round victory Saturday afternoon at the Texas A&M-Kingsville softball field.
The loss officially ended the Lady Warriors’ historic season at 20-7. A season in which the Lady Warriors won the program’s first district title, won its first bi-district championship and reached it first area-round appearance.
“I’m extremely proud of what the girls accomplished and it’s because of these seniors that we are here,” said Molina. “They are the reason that we got this program out of the mess it was in.
“They have done something special this year and, hopefully, they have left a legacy here that future Lady Warriors will continue to build on.”
After Santa Rosa took the early 4-0 lead, Odem immediately began chipping away at it, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first and another in the bottom of the third.
With the Lady Warriors leading by one heading into the bottom of the fifth, Odem’s Ronnie De La Luna singled to drive home Hillary Gonzales and even the score at 4-4. And it didn’t stop there as the Lady Owls scored six unanswered runs in the fifth to pull away for good.
Nevertheless, after the game Coach Molina had nothing but praise for her team.
“I told them that I was extremely proud of them and I told the seniors (Jazzy Robles, Julyssa Alvarez, Misty Lopez and Otilia Badillo) that I was going to miss them, and they have nothing to be ashamed of because they accomplished so many things,” she said. “For the underclassman, the season doesn’t end now. They have to keep working at it and keep our new tradition going.”