MISSION — Another dominant performance by La Joya Palmview pitcher Arianna Alaniz and an explosion of offense in the fifth inning powered the Lobos past Sharyland Pioneer 5-1 in Game 1 Thursday night at Pioneer.
Alaniz went the distance with 14 strikeouts, leaving her 15 away from 1,000 career punch outs as the series heads back to Palmview for Game 2 and possibly a third if Pioneer wins the second.
Palmview head coach Jessica Cardenas-Russell said her team shook off a slow start and was able to get going while capitalizing on Pioneer mistakes.
“That is what we needed in fifth inning and that inning made the difference,” Cardenas-Russell said. “We were finally able to get our momentum going and were able to keep it through until the end.”
The Lobos were able to make contact for most of the game, but instead of gaps they found Diamondbacks. The fifth inning they found their spots.
Palmview’s Marina Rodriguez and Ximena Alanis led off with singles. Senior Aalysa Longoria walked to load the bases and then Yailyn Trevino, Alanna Gonzalez, Alaniz and Evoria Garcia drove in runs to make it 5-1 when all was said and done.
Longoria is proud of the history making the team has accomplished already. Longoria had a terrific slide at home, getting under the tag to make it 3-1.
“We needed to step it up,” Longoria said. “With the score on the board, we knew we needed to come in clutch, step it up and not only get our hits going but our defense up and just back up our pitcher like always.”
Palmview freshman catcher Eissa Flores set the tone early defensively with a perfect throw down to second to pick off a runner. Palmview went down shortly after with a home run by Pioneer’s Faith Nunez.
“I think we were a little nervous in the beginning,” Flores said. “Once [Alaniz] started striking out people we got confidence and started hitting.”
Flores and Longoria both said the team still needs to clean some stuff up for Game 2 and bring the energy.
So-so night for Valley teams
There was a lot of positives Thursday night. La Joya High defeated San Antonio Harlan, Lyford also grabbed a game and Brownsville Lopez, Weslaco High, PSJA North and Rio Hondo look like they could fight back in the series after competitive performances.
It could have been better though for the remaining Valley teams.
PSJA High had a golden chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh against San Antonio O’Connor. The Bears had runners on second and third only to fly out near the warning track to lose 4-3 in San Diego.
The Bears had one of the best chances to advance from the 6A/5A teams because of the single game element, but the Panthers came up clutch like they did against Weslaco High last season in the third round.
Weslaco High struggled against SA Holmes’ Nevaeh Herrera, who struck out 11 batters. The Panthers looked like they could be wearing down Herrera late in the game with long at bats, but could not find that big hit to find themselves back in the game.
Brownsville Lopez only lost 7-4 to Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial, the District 29-5A champs. Not a bad result that could be turned around in Brownsville Friday night.
It was not all doom and gloom with La Joya High picking up a 1-0 victory, but the Coyotes will need to see it out in San Antonio.
Coyotes ace Arlette Hernandez put in another outstanding performance. Hernandez struck out 20 batters Thursday night in La Joya. The Coyotes have a chance to be the only 6A team standing going into Friday.
Harlingen High was the only 6A/5A team to be run-ruled Thursday night. San Antonio Brennan is the District 29-6A champs.
Lyford also picked up a Game 1 win. The Bulldogs won it in the 8th inning with a walk-off hit by Gabriella Rodriguez. Rio Hondo dropped Game 1 while Santa Rosa was eliminated.
