McALLEN — McAllen Rowe junior shortstop Destiny Menchaca and senior third baseman Ziomara Jasso were dialed in at the plate from the opening pitch.
The duo provided the Warriors with plenty of offensive punch in the heart of their lineup in a heated rivalry game against McAllen High.
Menchaca and Jasso combined to tally a 6-for-8 night at bat with eight runs and five RBIs between them, as Rowe buried the Bulldogs 15-5 in six innings Tuesday night at McHi to earn a season sweep over their crosstown rivals and pick up their third consecutive win.
“It feels really good because we’ve been working hard this whole season as a team, especially with our hitting. Our hitting has just been on fire up and down the lineup,” Menchaca said. “We just had to relax up there. We were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves trying to hit home runs instead of just trying to get a hard hit.”
“We’ve been working hard in practice and it’s showing on the field,” Jasso said. “We’ve been really patient at the plate and it’s been helping us.”
Menchaca and Jasso got the Warriors on the board early, scoring the first run of the night on an RBI double to deep left field by Jasso during the top of the first inning.
The duo struck again in their next trips to the plate, with Menchaca drawing a leadoff walk before Jasso crushed a deep two-run home run over the centerfield fence to put Rowe on top 4-1.
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it,” Jasso said. “I was just trying to get a hit and put the ball in the field, but it happened.”
McHi never led, but continued to keep it close deep into the game before the Warriors blew the contest wide open with an offensive explosion during the top of the sixth.
Rowe scored eight runs to take a 10-run advantage behind a rally that started and ended with Menchaca and Jasso as the team sent 12 hitters to the plate during an inning that featured six hits and a pair of errors.
“We didn’t want them to stick around,” Menchaca said. “We wanted to put it to them, so that’s what we did. We all just said, ‘It’s time to really start hitting.’”
Menchaca finished with a triple, single, four runs and an RBI. Jasso, meanwhile, ended the night with a 4-for-4 performance at the plate that included a pair of extra-base hits, a game-high four RBIs and an intentional walk.
The victory also marks the third consecutive game in which the Warriors have scored 14 or more runs. Since dropping its only two district games of the season to Sharyland Pioneer and PSJA Memorial, Rowe has outscored its opposition 49-12 during an explosive offensive stretch.
“We’ve been staying focused and getting a lot of reps,” Jasso said. “We’ve been working a lot on our hitting and we’re all hitting really good now.”
The loss drops McHi to 4-8 on the season and 3-5 in District 31-5A, and Rowe improves to 7-7 overall and 6-2 in district play with the victory.
The Warriors will look to pick up their fourth straight win when they return to action to host Valley View at 7 p.m. Thursday, while the Bulldogs will hope to bounce back when they travel to face Pioneer at the same time.
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Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch
