LA JOYA — La Joya Palmview’s Arianna Alaniz added 13 strikeouts to her national-best strikeout count as the Lobos took down Mission Veterans 10-0 in a District 30-5A meeting Tuesday night in La Joya.
Alaniz, a senior, entered Tuesday night with the most reported strikeouts in the nation on MaxPreps. Alaniz now has 180 strikeouts this season; the second-best mark was 138 heading into Tuesday.
“I started pitching as a freshman, so knowing that all of my hard work is paying off, all the trainings and the endless amount of times we traveled out, it is good to know that it is finally paying off,” Alaniz said.
The senior only needed 83 pitches against Mission Veterans. Alaniz, a Texas A&M Kingsville signee, only allowed one hit, and two base runners — one of whom reached on an error.
“Ari has, without a doubt, been a big key to the defensive stronghold that we’ve had on teams,” La Joya Palmview head coach Jessica Cardenas-Russell said. “She is a silent leader, does not say much and keeps her composure in the circle. I have had coaches from out of town say that she has ice in her veins, there is no reactions, you can’t tell when she makes a mistake.”
Cardenas-Russell heaped a lot of praise on her ace and complimented her defense as well. Besides an early error on a well-hit ball in the infield, it was a clean game for La Joya Palmview, which is now 2-0 in District 30-5A.
The Lobos picked up the majority of their runs late, scoring nine during the final two innings.
“They were able to finally adjust in the fifth inning,” Cardenas-Russell said. “It just takes patience, sometimes we struggle a lot with it, but it takes that one person to get it started and everybody rallies. That is one of the biggest things we’ve had this season. It takes that one person to get us started, and everybody follows suit.”
Mission Veterans pitcher Crystsa Robles was terrific most of the game for the Patriots, striking out three with great placement. A few errors were costly for the Patriots, and the Lobos figured out Robles’ off-speed style as the game progressed.
Palmview picked up runs off a double and single from Destinee Garza. Sophomore Evoria Garcia drove in two runs, and so did Alaniz during the Lobos’ final two innings.
The Lobos have not won a district title in program history. Palmview has started the 2024 district season with wins over last season’s district champion, Rio Grande City, and now the No. 2 seed from a year ago, Mission Veterans.
