Lady Eagles defeat Lady Mavericks to clinch District 29-5A Softball Championship
By: Ricardo E. Calderon
An Exclusive Eagle Pass Business Journal News Story/Copyright 2013
The Eagle Pass High School Lady Eagles defeated cross-town rival C.C. Winn High School Lady Mavericks, 13 to 1, to clinch the outright 2013 District 29-5A Softball Championship behind a three-run homerun blast by junior center fielder Monica Flores and a three hit pitching gem by sophomore southpaw pitcher Krystal De La Cruz on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at the Eagle Pass Independent School District Student Activity Center Softball Field.
The visiting C.C. Winn Lady Mavericks threatened to score in the top of the first inning on back to back singles by senior second baseman Rosemary Hernandez and sophomore shortstop Ariana Ruiz before Lady Eagle hurler Krystal De La Cruz settled down and found her groove. De La Cruz got Lady Maverick junior clean-up hitter Ronnie Valdez to ground out for the second out and Lady Maverick junior catcher Lorena Sanchez to fly out to right field for the third out to end the Lady Mavericks scoring threat in the top of the first inning.
The Lady Eagles jumped on Lady Mavericks freshman pitcher Brittany Perez for four runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 4 to 0 lead which they would never relinquished in the game.
Lady Eagle junior shortstop and lead off hitter Sandra Mendoza received a base on balls followed by a perfectly executed bunt single by Lady Eagle slugger Monica Flores to advance Mendoza to second base, senior second baseman Jessica Garcia received a walk to load the bases, senior designated and clean up hitter Dariela Velasquez was hit by a pitch to score Mendoza, senior right fielder Keanna Cisneros slammed a double to left-center field scoring Flores and Garcia and advancing Velasquez to third base, Lady Eagle hurler Krystal De La Cruz helped her cause stroking an RBI single to center field scoring Velasquez to take a 4 to 0 lead on Lady Mavericks freshman pitcher Brittany Perez. Lady Mavericks head softball coach Gustavo Varela called time out and relieved Perez on the pitching circle with freshman hurler Amberly Garza in the bottom of the first inning with one out. Garza got the next two Lady Eagles batters to ground out and strike out to end the first inning.
The Lady Mavericks scored their lone run in the top of the second inning as Lady Maverick right fielder Gisselle Cerda received a base on balls followed by junior left fielder Natalie Garcia grounded out advancing Cerda to second base, Lady Maverick Leslie Salinas grounded out advancing Cerda to third base, Lady Maverick hurler Amberly Garza hit a hard groundball to shortstop which was mishandled for an error scoring Cerda with two outs and the next Lady Maverick batter flied out to third base to end the Lady Mavericks scoring threat.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Lady Eagles exploded for five runs as senior left fielder Krystal Perez laid down a patented California one hand bunt single to lead off, Sandra Mendoza belted a single to left field advancing Perez to second base, Monica Flores flied out to second base for the first out, Jessica Garcia slammed an RBI single to left field scoring Perez, Dariela Velasquez reached first base on a Lady Maverick, Mendoza and Garcia both scored on a Lady Maverick catcher throwing error, Keanna Cisneros stroked a Texas Leaguer single advancing Velasquez to third base, Krystal De La Cruz reached first base on another Lady Maverick error scoring Velasquez and advancing Cisneros to third base, Cisneros scored on another Lady Maverick catcher throwing error, Lady Eagle freshman pinch runner Sairah Gonzalez was thrown out at third base by Lady Maverick catcher Lorena Sanchez, and senior first baseman Samantha Fuentes grounde out to end the inning. The Lady Eagles took an insurmountable 9 to 1 lead.
Lady Eagle hurler Krystal De La Cruz limited the Lady Mavericks potent batters to only one additional hit in the following three innings and fanned three Lady Mavericks to earn the victory as well as the District 29-5A Softball Championship.
The Lady Eagles added four runs in the bottom of the third inning to lock up the victory as fleet-footed Krystal Perez reached first base on a fielding error, Sandra Mendoza walked, Monica Flores slammed a rocket line drive over the left-center field fence for a three run homerun, Jessica Garcia belted a single, junior catcher Claudia Cruz flied out to first base for the first out, Keanna Cisneros received a base on balls advancing Garcia to second base, De La Cruz singled to center field advancing Garcia to third and Cisneros to second base, and senior third baseman Samantha De Leon blasted an RBI single to left field scoring Garcia to end the Lady Eagles scoring for the night as the next two Lady Eagle batters flied out.
The Lady Eagles won after the top of the fifth inning via the 10 run rule. Both the Lady Eagles and Lady Mavericks demonstrated great sportsmanship and represented their schools very well.
The Lady Eagles won their 16th consecutive softball game against their cross-town rival Lady Mavericks in this storied high school rivalry which commenced in 2007 under then Lady Eagle pitcher Alexa C. Calderon and Lady Maverick hurler Kathy Sanchez.
The Lady Mavericks conclude their 2013 softball season with a 3-9 District 29-5A record and 13-16 overall season record under first year head softball coach Gustavo Varela.
The Lady Eagles finished their 2013 District Championship season with a 11-1 district mark and 23-6 overall season record under head softball coach Oscar Ruiz. The Lady Eagles now advance in the State 5-A University Interscholastic League Region IV softball playoffs next week against an opponent to be determined later this week.
