BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — There is a charming optimism that comes from children who, on either their parents’ wishes or their own, join a T-ball team.
A then-6-year-old Gabby Villarreal had her own T-ball experience, shared with kids her age like Darissa Buenrostro, now Edinburg Vela’s starting catcher.
“I played T-ball with a few of the girls on this team,” Villarreal said. “I’ve known them since I was a little kid. Playing with them feels like a natural thing, since we’re like family now.”
Villarreal, who plays right field for the last team representing Hidalgo County in the state softball playoffs, must have had memorable moments at the plate during those formative years.
“Back then, I couldn’t even hit the ball off the tee,” Villarreal said.
The Villarreal of today can do more than just hit off of a tee. Her transformation into a dependable softball player is still incomplete, but early returns show she is heading in the right direction.
Now in her second year of varsity softball, Villarreal’s .372 batting average is third highest among SaberCats with at least 50 at-bats on the season. She’s tied for third on the club in hits (32) and ranks third in RBIs (21), second in doubles (eight) and second in runs scored (30). She is also tied for first with five triples.
Villarreal has done all of this from the leadoff spot in the SaberCats’ batting order.
“My mentality has been: you’re the first batter, and you have to start the momentum going for your team,” Villarreal said. “If you get on, you can start a rally and get things going.”
Edinburg Vela coach Jon Maples had Villarreal bat second during her sophomore season.
“She’s very patient at the plate,” Maples said. “She averages around eight to nine pitches every at bat. She goes up there, and she’s not really looking for the first pitch to hit. Gabby is seeing different pitches than an opposing pitcher is throwing, and she works the count, and that really benefits our team.”
“To me, I see batting second or first as almost the same thing,” Villarreal said. “The second batter is still a big part of the first three hitters that get to the plate automatically. Preparing how to face those pitchers in practice better before game time has been the biggest change. I’ve worked on hitting outside pitches a lot more.”
The regular season production has carried over through the first five games of the playoffs. Villarreal is 7 of 20 with five runs batted in during the postseason. As the playoff pressure continues to mount, the junior continues to rise to her challenges.
“I don’t think she has even peaked yet,” Maples said. “Not many people knew who she was as a sophomore, and teams pitched her inside. But they found out she had more power than they thought, at first. She’s pretty much our unsung hero right now. She’s come through for us whenever we needed a hit or needed a good at-bat. The players know that when she’s up to bat, something good is going to happen.”
Four of Villarreal’s five RBIs in the playoffs occurred during Vela’s area round series against Laredo Alexander last weekend. Her biggest hit of the series came in Game 2, when Villarreal stepped to the dish and cranked a three-run triple en route to the SaberCats’ 9-3 victory. Villarreal also scored three times in the series to push Edinburg Vela (31-6) into the third round for the first time in program history.
“I always felt like I had the potential to help my team out a lot more,” Villarreal said. “I think we can go really far in these playoffs. We have more adrenaline running through us when we practice now. We’ve never made it this far before. We want to take this as far as we can, because we have the teammates, the bats, the pitching and the fire to do it.”
Maples, who like Villarreal is in his second varsity season at Edinburg Vela, won’t have to worry about calling an audible to play a series in two different ballparks, as the SaberCats did a week ago. Edinburg Vela will meet the Harlingen South Hawks, the SaberCats’ second playoff opponent from top-heavy District 32-6A, in a one-game playoff at 8 p.m. Friday in Harlingen.
Winning on the road has come relatively easy to the SaberCats, whose four playoff wins came away from home.
“We’re going to put runs on the board, and they’re going to put runs up. We have good pitching, and so do they,” Maples said. “Coach (Elias) Martinez has a well-coached team, so I expect this game to go the whole seven innings, with neither team getting out to a big lead. Hopefully, we can get runners on base and get them in, like we have been.”