Left: Weslaco High pitcher Katia Reyes winds up to deliver a pitch during Game 1 of a bi-district series in the Class 6A state playoffs against Edinburg Vela on Thursday, April 29, 2021 at Weslaco High School in Weslaco. (Joel Martinez | The Monitor) Right: Weslaco East pitcher Melissa Cabrera hurls a pitch toward the plate during Game 2 of a bi-district series in the Class 5A state playoffs against McAllen Rowe on Friday, April 30, 2021, at Nikki Rowe High School in McAllen. (Joel Martinez | The Monitor)

WESLACO — For the first time in history, Weslaco High and Weslaco East have advanced to the area round of the softball state playoffs together.

In what’s been a banner year on the diamond in Weslaco, both the Panthers and Wildcats have thrived during condensed seasons and battled through the Rio Grande Valley’s two deepest districts to reach the postseason.

Now, both programs are eager to prove they have what it takes to keep dancing into the regional quarterfinals for the first time in years.

“This feeling is amazing,” Wildcats sophomore catcher Jaisy “Piper” Caceres said. “I have been keeping up with the East softball team since even before middle school because my uncle was a football coach here since the school opened. I always imagined how cool it would be to play here, but nothing prepared me for how much better the feeling would be playing for East and getting this far.”

Weslaco High’s Lexie Escamilla (5) hits it over the fence for a home run in the first inning against Brownsville Hanna in a District 32-6A game at Weslaco High School on Monday, March 22, 2021, in Weslaco. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])

“It feels amazing to see my team playing like this and just seeing that everything we’ve been working on is paying off and showing on the field,” Panthers center fielder Lexie Escamilla said. “It feels amazing to be able to represent the Valley and be able to show off what we are capable of doing.

The Wildcats (17-6-1) battled their way back to the area round of the Class 5A state playoffs for the first time since 2010 with an authoritative sweep of McAllen Rowe in the bi-district round, outscoring the Warriors by 17 runs in back-to-back shutouts.

East has excelled this season thanks largely to the depth of its lineup and its penchant for power hitting. The Wildcats shattered the program’s all-time, single-season home run record with 22 bombs on the year led by Caceres and junior Arianna Cabrera, who have 10 and six, respectively, so far.

“The team connection and commitment have also helped offensively,” Caceres said. “Now we know that we can all hit, from the top to the bottom of the lineup. Even if we strike out, everyone is still committed to making it up on the next at-bat.”

Weslaco East’s Ashley Garcia (1) runs safely home against McAllen Rowe in a Class 5A Region IV Bi-District playoff game at McAllen Rowe School on Friday, April 30, 2021, in McAllen. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])

The Panthers (17-4), meanwhile, have used a similar formula to replicate that success in one of the toughest Class 6A districts throughout the state during a season in which tournaments were not an option and non-district competition was limited.

Weslaco, Harlingen South and Los Fresnos — District 32-6A’s three remaining postseason teams — have tallied a combined 52-2-1 record against all other opponents. All three remain unbeaten outside of district play.

“Our district had some of the toughest pitchers, hitters, and elite defenses,” Panthers right fielder Jordan Diaz said. “I really think the pitching we faced is going to help us move forward in the playoffs. We’ve really improved since we first started playing and it’s because of our district.”

Weslaco downed former district rival Edinburg Vela in a bi-district sweep to get back to the area round after scoring 15 of the final 16 runs of the series.

Now the Panthers will be aiming for their first trip back to Round 3 since 2017 with one of the most energetic lineups throughout the RGV starting to surge at the plate.

“We play 10 times better when everyone is cheering loud, going out to the fans, and having fun,” Diaz said. “We’re one of the most dangerous teams when our bats are hot. When they’re hot, we just keep going and we don’t stop.”

“The energy is one of the main factors in playing,” Panthers pitcher Katia Reyes said. “Using the mascot heads and going out to get our crowd going is so that we can feel their energy and use it to help us. Energy is very motivating and helps in every way.”

Weslaco High’s Katia Rae Reyes (20) celebrates her run in against Edinburg Vela in a Class 6A Bi-District playoff game at Weslaco High School on Thursday, April 29, 2021, in Weslaco. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])

The one constant between the Panthers and Wildcats this season, however, has been in the circle with a pair of the top pitching combos across South Texas.

East has leaned on the strength of twins Arianna and Melissa Cabrera, a dynamic lefty-righty combination. Melissa and Arianna have recorded 1.91 and 2.66 ERAs, respectively, and combined for 112 strikeouts in 110 ⅔ innings while yielding only four home runs.

For Weslaco High, Reyes and Julie Rodriguez have been equally dangerous duo in the circle tallying ERAs of 1.62 and 1.90, respectively. The Panthers’ pitchers have also combined for 163 strikeouts in 132 innings.

“I feel like we complement each other really well,” Melissa Cabrera said. “I feel like we have more of a connection because she’s my twin, but we do also communicate a lot with each other. We both know we have each other’s back and we’re always there to pick each other up.”

“The pitching is definitely an important job but the main factor in our success is our defense,” Reyes said. “Neither Julie nor I have had a perfect game this season, but our defense knows how to keep us in and all the chanting from them and the motivating helps us do our jobs. … We both have our unique styles of pitching and that really helps the game and keeping the batters off balance.”

The Panthers enter Round 2 in the midst of a 10 scoreless-inning streak defensively, while the Wildcats have yet to yield a run in 14 frames of postseason softball.

Weslaco East’s Cecilia Bautista (24) celebrates an out against McAllen Rowe in a Class 5A Region IV Bi-District playoff game at McAllen Rowe School on Friday, April 30, 2021, in McAllen. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])

Weslaco High is set to face San Antonio Harlan (14-11) in Game 1 of a best-of-three series at 7 p.m. Friday at Laredo’s Student Activity Center, with Game 2 scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday followed immediately afterward by Game 3 if necessary.

East will travel to face Corpus Christi Carroll (26-5) for Game 1 of its area series at 6 p.m. Friday at Cabaniss Field before returning home for Game 2 at the same time Saturday. A potential Game 3 would return to Cabaniss at the same time Monday night.

Both enter Round 2 playing their best softball of the season to date determined to ride their wave of momentum into the regional quarterfinals.

“The main factor to us being successful this round is just staying together and working as a team,” Reyes said. “We’ve learned that if we stick together we can really accomplish anything we put our minds to.”

“We are hitting our peak at the right time and we are playing some of our best softball,” Cabrera said. “We just need to keep our energy up like we’ve been doing throughout the season and supporting each other playing the game we know how to play and play our hearts out.”