Eagle Pass Little League 14 & Under Girls Softball All-Stars Win Texas West State Championship
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2019
The mighty Eagle Pass Little League 14 and Under (Junior) Girls Softball All-Stars won the 2019 Texas West State Championship by defeating the Mercedes, Texas All-Stars in two consecutive games (4-1, 7-4) on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 in Abilene, Texas, announced Bobby Rankin, Eagle Pass Little League Softball President.
Prior to the Texas West State Championship, the Eagle Pass All-Stars clinched both the Texas District 35 Championship and the Texas West Sectional 3 Championship in order to qualify for the Texas West State Championship.
In their first tournament game of the 2019 Texas West State Championship, the Eagle Pass All-Stars crushed the Ralls, Texas All-Stars by the score of 12-1 on July 13, 2019.
In the second tournament game, the Eagle Pass All-Stars suffered a loss to the Mercedes, Texas All-Stars 7-2 on July 14, 2019, sending Eagle Pass to the elimination bracket of the double-elimination tournament. These two teams would eventually play each other two more times for the eventual Texas West State Championship.
In their third tournament game, the Eagle Pass All-Stars faced a win or go home situation against the perennial Little League Softball powerhouse Waco Robinson All-Stars on July 15, 2019. The never say die Eagle Pass All-Stars upset Waco Robinson 8-7 in a hotly contested game to punch a ticket back to the Championship Game against the Rio Grande Valley representative, Mercedes.
With Eagle Pass having sustained a first tournament loss to the Mercedes All-Stars, Eagle Pass needed to defeat the stout Mercedes All-Stars twice while Mercedes only needed one win to advance.
In the first Championship game played on July 16, 2019, the Eagle Pass All-Stars upset the Mercedes All-Stars 4-1, forcing a winner take all second Championship game.
In the second and winner take all Championship game, the mighty Eagle Pass All-Stars rode their newfound confidence and momentum to a second back to back victory over the Mercedes All-Stars by the score of 7-4, clinching the coveted 2019 Texas West State Championship and punching their ticket to the 2019 Little League Softball Junior (14 & Under) Southwest United States Championship in Ysleta, New Mexico this coming weekend in the Land of Enchantment.
The Eagle Pass Little League Girls Softball Junior (14 & Under) All-Stars are composed of Larissa Jacquez, Kari Perez, Carli Rankin, Janel Ramos, Paulina Escobar, Caitlin Puente, Valeria Vielma, Valeria Salinas, Sofia Duran, Paola Chavarria, Anissa Elizondo, and Jaretzi Garcia. The team manager is Javier “Hershey” Elguezabal and the coach is Hugo Vielma.
The winner of the 2019 Little League Softball Junior (14 & Under) Southwest United States Regional Championship advances to the Little League Softball Junior World Series Championship. Two Eagle Pass teams have previously won the Southwest United States Regional Championship and advanced to the elite Little League Softball Junior (14 & Under) World Series Championship.
The 2019 Eagle Pass All-Stars have set their sights on becoming the third and most recent softball team to qualify for the Little League Softball Junior World Series Championship, but first they must win the Southwest United States Championship in Ysleta, New Mexico to punch their ticket.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal congratulates the Eagle Pass Little League Softball Junior (14 & Under) All-Stars on winning the 2019 Texas West State Championship and wishes them all the best of luck at the Little League Softball Southwest United States Championship Tournament this weekend in New Mexico. Go Eagle Pass!
