WEB EXCLUSIVE: Lady ‘Hounds handle Sharyland, Falcons next

NEWS Staff Report

Sometimes, it’s better to leave some things unsaid. Especially if they are wrong.

After Sharyland made some comments after Game 1 about the Lady ’Hounds’ inability to hit the ball with power, the girls came out with something to prove and did it to the tune of a 13-3, five-inning shellacking of the Lady Rattlers on Saturday afternoon at Lady Hound Field.

San Benito (26-4) pounded out 15 hits on the afternoon, some of them hard shots to the outfield, to not only answer the critics, but to clinch a series sweep secured the area championship. Next up is Los Fresnos in the regional quarterfinal round next week. Sharyland ends its season at 21-11.

The Lady ’Hounds took the opener on Friday night only to take offense to some comments made by Sharyland through the media saying San Benito didn’t have anyone “who can drive the ball. Everything of theirs is about placement.”

Fifteen hits later, that statement was debunked resoundingly.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our girls for their never-die attitude. Not bad for girls who don’t drive the ball, only place it,” San Benito coach Elias Martinez said with a grin. “Well, we placed the ball where they were at, and bottom line is it came down to who could handle the pressure and we did.”

The game was a close one to start.  San Benito jumped ahead in the first inning when Amber Jasso singled to left and Dorothy Millan later followed with an infield hit of her own. Then Clarissa Huerta, who’s been solid in the playoffs especially, crushed a two-run double for a two-run edge.

Sharyland answered in the second when Bree Youngblood launched a two-run homer to left to tie the game.

However, the Lady ’Hounds recovered to retake the lead and keep it as Dina Trevino reached on an error and eventually scored on a single by Millan. Then courtesy runner Sarah Martinez crossed home plate on an infield error to make it 4-2 after two innings.

The third inning was all San Benito all the time.

Right away, Mel Gonzalez singled and scored on Cynthia Rodriguez’s single, which rolled past the Rattler outfielder with nobody out. Trevino then reached via another miscue to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Then Jasso perfectly placed a shot into a huge gap in left-center to bring in two runs. The speedster wound up with a triple to make it 7-2 San Benito.

Later, Jasso scored on an error and Clarissa Huerta singled again and an error made it 9-2 Lady ’Hounds. Alexis Cavazos then ripped a single to score Huerta. When the dust finally settled, San Benito scored six runs on five hits and four Sharyland errors. In all, 10 Lady ’Hounds batted.

Mariah Youngblood, who came on to relieve Rendon in the fourth, singled and scored for Shary in the fifth.  But San Benito slammed the door shut when Sarah Martinez, Huerta and Gonzalez all came home to end the contest.

All the while, the home crowd was pumped and the girls fed off of it, Martinez said. A group of SBHS male students, complete with facial paint and a gorilla costume, did a great job of riling up the fans.

“How about our crowd?” Martinez said. “Our crowd is fantastic. They’re always behind us where ever we go and those Sunshine boys are something else.”