UPDATE: Lady ’Hounds headed to Harlingen on Friday

The San Benito Lady Greyhound softball team did it again. The team won its seventh district title Thursday night with a victory over Brownsville Hanna. (File photo by Francisco E. Jimenez)

 

By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com

They did it again …and again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

That’s right. The mighty San Benito Lady Greyhound softball team is, for the seventh time, the 32-5A District champs after defeating the Hanna Lady Golden Eagles in Brownsville on Thursday evening. Head Softball Coach Elias Martinez, who’s been there for all seven titles, credited the batting of Adrianna “Squirt” Flores, who went 2-4, and Yesenia Penablanca, who batted 2-3, for leading the Lady ’Hounds to victory.

Martinez also credited the superb pitching of freshman cannon Amber Jasso, who had 10 Ks and only allowed four hits on the night.

“Coming into the season, we had some big shoes to fill,” said Martinez. “We had three girls go on to go play Division 1 college ball. Those are big shoes to fill, so we had some big question marks. I had heard a lot about Amber, but as far as knowing whether or not she would be able to play at this level, we had to wait and see until she got here. We were very pleasantly surprised.”

In this group of girls, Martinez found a team with the ability to attack on all aspects of the game.

“We were able to get some girls to step up,” said Martinez. “Right now our record is 27-3. We’re playing well, we’re hitting the ball well, we’re getting great pitching, great defense, we’re pleasantly surprised.”

Someone who didn’t surprise was the ferocious Amanda Garza, who has dominated the position of shortstop since her freshman year. A senior standout on the basketball court as well, Garza undoubtedly made the most of her senior year at San Benito High School.

“It’s just an honor to play with such a good group of girls. Our hard work finally paid off after three years,” said Garza. “This season was very memorable. It was pretty intense, we’re very proud.”

When asked about facing the Harlingen Lady Cardinals next week in the first round of the playoffs, Garza said, “Coach Martinez told us to work harder and be ready for anything that can happen.”

The Lady ’Hounds will be going into the playoffs as the number one seed in 32-5A. They will be facing the Harlingen Lady Cardinals. As of deadline, a date and time have yet to be determined.

The Lady Hounds now take on the Harlingen Lady Cards in bi-district play. They will play a two out of three play-off series. The first game will be on Friday, April 29 at Harlingen Lady Cardinal Field at 7 p.m.; gates will open at 5:30 pm. The second game will be on Saturday, April 30 at Lady Hound Stadium at 2 p.m.; gates will open at 12:30 p.m. The third game, if needed, will be played an hour after the second game.

To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the April 24 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.