PHARR —PSJA North fielded one of the Valley’s stingiest defenses this past season, averaging just 1.1 runs against per game.
Guiding the Raiders’ stout defense was pitcher Ariella Saenz. PSJA North’s ace tallied a 17-0 regular-season record inside the circle, leading the Raiders to the District 31-6A crown.
The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi signee finished the season with a 0.18 ERA, allowing just three earned runs all season. She held opponents to a .131 batting average, racking up 145 strikeouts in 114.1 innings pitched.
Saenz is The Monitor’s 2022 All-Area Softball Defensive Player of the Year.
“It feels really awesome,” Saenz said. “It just shows all the work I have done the past four years has paid off. Awards aren’t everything but there is something nice about getting recognized when it’s known and deserved. I feel really grateful for it.”
Saenz operated with a short-term memory inside the circle, quickly forgetting any hit allowed. She recorded 14 appearances with one hit or less allowed, giving up more than two hits just seven times in her 26 appearances.
“It’s about just knowing it’s not the end of the world. It’s just one hit, “Saenz said. “You can come back and get the next strikeout. You can make a play happen or get the girl out that just got a hit. You have to have that short-term memory and just brush it off.”
Her work on the mound helped the Raiders hold 25 of their 30 opponents to two runs or fewer, including 14 shutout victories.
Two of Saenz’s shutouts came against La Joya High, games she described as her favorites of the year. She finished with 10 combined strikeouts and 0 runs allowed during the Raiders pair of victories (8-0, 7-0) over the Coyotes.
“They had told us they’d be our biggest target this year,” Saenz said. “We heard people saying they were going to come out and beat us and that they had a really good pitcher. We ended up beating them super bad. Just knowing we were able to do that as a team and myself pitching really well those games, it was really nice to see.”
Saenz praises her teammates for PSJA North’s defensive success, while also highlighting her own efforts for her dominance in the circle.
“It definitely was about us sticking together as a team,” she said. “Our defense was pretty close. We just held it all together. We knew what we had to do on the field and off the field. … Even when we faced adversity, we knew how to stay level-headed and play our game.
“As for me, I worked really hard on and off the field. I had a really good season this year. I had a 0.18 ERA, one of the best in Texas. It felt really nice to see that.”
