PHARR — Down to their final three outs, the Edinburg North Cougars were determined to start a last-chance rally to prolong their game against PSJA North.
The Cougars knocked back-to-back base hits into center field to start the top of the seventh inning and trim the Raiders’ lead down to three with no outs.
That’s when PSJA North pitcher Ariella Saenz delivered with the game on the line.
Saenz struck out the Cougars’ final three batters of the night to cap off a marathon outing in the circle and seal a 7-4 come-from-behind victory for PSJA North over Edinburg North, the 24th-ranked Class 6A team in the Texas Girls Coaches Association rankings, on Tuesday night.
“I just went right after them,” Saenz said. “My curve drop was really working and my rise ball was working pretty good tonight.”
“(Saenz) stuck with it and did a great job,” PSJA North head coach Stephanie Lugo said. “(This win) really shows our character and shows we’re strong no matter what situation we’re put in. The girls were able to overcome a hard situation and do what they needed to do to get the job done.”
Saenz struck out the side to end the game and place an exclamation point finish on a stellar night inside the circle for PSJA North.
The Raiders’ pitcher struck out 10 batters as part of a 154-pitch, complete-game effort in which she routinely managed to work PSJA North out of tight jams defensively.
Saenz stranded 11 Cougars on the basepaths, including six in scoring position, by repeatedly powering past hitters with her rise ball and curveball.
“I was just taking deep breaths and listening to Coach (Lugo),” Saenz said. “I was just making sure I wasn’t getting above myself and that my defense was right there behind me and they were.”
PSJA North found itself in a quick early hole after Edinburg North plated a pair of runs during the top of the first inning after an infield error and a walk in back-to-back at-bats with the bases loaded.
The Cougars struck again during the top of the third inning on a passed ball that got past the catcher to move ahead 3-1, but the Raiders came roaring back thanks to their aggressive baserunning and timely hitting.
“We just needed to get through that first and second inning and get rid of our jitters. Once we took it pitch by pitch, the girls were aggressive at the plate and our defense was great as well,” Lugo said. “
PSJA North scored in each of its last three innings at the plate, tallying six unanswered runs to storm ahead of their District 31-6A rivals.
The Raiders scored three runs as part of a momentum-swinging fourth inning to seize their first lead of the night.
PSJA North’s Angel Lozano and Luera Kristianna both reached base and advanced to third on back-to-back errors at first base which each pushed a run across.
Katelyn Luera delivered a clutch sac fly to the warning track in left field in the next at-bat to bring Kristianna in from third to score and take a one-run lead.
“We just did whatever it took to get somebody to score,” Lugo said. “Our speed on the bases is something that really helped us today and getting those clutch hits and RBIs when we needed to make something happen.”
The Raiders struck again during the bottom of the fifth when Saenz scored on a fielder’s choice after delivering a leadoff single.
PSJA North added a pair of insurance runs during the sixth after another error, Edinburg North’s sixth, brought Lozano and Kristianna home after both started the inning with a pair of walks.
The loss drops the Cougars to 6-2 overall and 1-2 in District 31-6A, while the Raiders improve to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in district play with the victory.
Edinburg North gets back to action for another 31-6A tilt when it hosts La Joya High at 7 p.m. Friday, and PSJA North returns to the diamond for a road game against Edinburg High at the same time.
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Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch
