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WESLACO — Weslaco High’s Katia Reyes is very superstitious. Gamedays consist of several pregame rituals, Reyes said. Too many to count.

Two, however, come to mind almost instantly for Reyes when asked – her hair and makeup.

“I have my two Dutch braids on during every game since the beginning of the season,” Reyes said. “That and I wear eyeliner, purple mascara and purple glitter.”

Reyes’ pregame rituals seem to be working for the Panthers’ ace, dominating opposing batters all this postseason. During her latest game, Reyes delivered a 12-strikeout no-hitter to help earn the Panthers the sweep over San Antonio Harlan and advance to the Region IV-6A semifinals.

Now Reyes and the Panthers prepare for their next test, taking on the Austin Bowie Bulldogs in a best-of-3 Region IV-6A semifinal series beginning at 7 tonight at Cabaniss Softball Field in Corpus Christi.

“The expectations were high for this team simply because we went to the third round last year and we had a lot of the girls back,” Weslaco High head coach Mario Rodriguez said. “We tried to keep it low-key and focus on every practice getting better. Now that we’re here, we can enjoy it while we’re here. We knew we had a good little team. We just didn’t know how good we would be.”

Reyes is just one cog driving the Panthers’ softball machine into the fourth round. Behind home plate sits senior catcher Jules Garcia, who has been catching for Reyes since seventh grade.

Garcia, who also calls the pitches during the game, said she knows the game falls on her shoulders a lot of the time, needing to call the right throws for Reyes.

Weslaco High catcher Jules Garcia, left, tags out another player during a drill Wednesday at the Weslaco High Softball Field in Weslaco. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])

“It begins with a lot of trust,” Garcia said. “We’ve just grown a lot since seventh grade. We’re there for each other. When she’s not having a good day, or I’m having an off day, she’s there. … It’s all about being smart about the batter. I look for the batters’ swings, stance and all types of things. The way they look and their confidence, it tells me whether to have Kat bring it hot or just mess with them a little bit.”

Garcia’s calls behind the plate have led to dominating postseason numbers by Reyes, tallying a 0.74 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched, including 63 strikeouts.

The Panthers’ senior duo has helped anchor a stout Panthers’ defense, which is allowing 1.8 runs per contest through six postseason games.

Weslaco High’s Katia Reyes delivers a pitch during a Class 6A bi-district matchup against PSJA High on April 28 at Josefina S. Ayala Softball Field in San Juan. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])

While Garcia and Reyes play big roles in the team’s success, the team has depth across the board, Rodriguez said, with any player capable of stepping up at any given moment.

Both Reyes and Garcia credit the rest of the defense for the team’s success as well, trusting them back to make plays when needed.

“It’s just a matter of being able to trust the pitch calling (by Garcia) and the defense,” Reyes said. “If they hit, I know my defense has my back. If I strike them out, great. But it’s all about hitting my spots.”

Offensively, Garcia and Reyes are equally as dominant, ranking first and second in batting average this postseason, respectively. Garcia has tallied 11 hits on 19 at bats for a .579 batting average, adding two home runs and nine RBIs. Reyes has gone 9-of-17 at the plate for a .529 batting average, while bringing in nine runs and drilling one home run.

Weslaco High’s Katia Reyes swings at a pitch during a Class 6A bi-district matchup against PSJA High on April 28 at Josefina S. Ayala Softball Field in San Juan. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])

The depth goes beyond the senior duo, with a total of six Panthers hitting higher than .350 this postseason. Alexis Soliz (.500), Stacey Bautista (.429), Elizabeth Craig (.385) and Romy Nunez (.385) rank third through sixth in playoff batting average, respectively.

During their Game 1 regional quarterfinal victory over San Antonio Harlan, it was Soliz coming up big for the Panthers, going yard for a two-run homer during the fourth to give them their first lead of the game.

“Jules Garcia and Katia Reyes are the obvious ones, but to have people like Alexis Soliz, who had a home run against San Antonio Harlan, or Mia Rodriguez, who also had a home run in Game 2 against Harlan, you can go on and on,” Rodriguez said. “At different points throughout the season, someone has done something spectacular to help us. That’s just helped us. We’re young in a lot of areas but they don’t play like they’re young.”

They’ll look to match Austin Bowie’s offensive firepower during their regional semifinal series, with the Bulldogs fresh off a 13-3 victory over Lake Travis. Austin Bowie outscored Lake Travis 25-9 during the best-of-3 series, recording 33 hits and three home runs.

While aware of the challenge presented by Bowie’s offense, Reyes and the Panthers are ready to face it head on, with Weslaco High’s right-handed ace in the circle wearing the same makeup and braids, as always.

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