San Benito bests Edinburg North, advances to regional quarterfinals

Special to the NEWS

(File photo by T.J. Tijerina)

EDINBURG — With most of the talk about Edinburg North’s big bats, some might’ve wondered if the San Benito Lady ’Hounds could match them.

That question was answered resoundingly: The Lady ’Hounds’ lineup can be pretty tough, too.

The girls pounded out 14 hits, got hot from the get-go and saw production from various spots as they edged the Lady Cougars 11-9 in Game 2 of their Class 5A area round best-of-three series on Saturday afternoon in Edinburg.

The wild win capped a two-game sweep for the Lady ’Hounds (29-2), who won Game 1 3-2 on Friday night. San Benito will now square off with another familiar foe, 29-5A champ Eagle Pass (28-6) in the regional quarterfinals next weekend. Edinburg North’s season ended at 26-6.

“The word was about them (Edinburg North) and their lineup and it not mattering who they faced,” San Benito coach Elias Martinez said, alluding to media reports leading into the series. “Well apparently it does matter. We felt like we weren’t given the respect we deserved, so we told the girls to use it as motivation and take care of business. Our girls stepped up and played a whale of a game. We showed that we can win the close ones or we can win a slugfest with the best of ’em.”

North came in with four hitters sporting better than .500 averages, including one at .600. However, the Lady Cougars were held to a combined nine hits allowed by San Benito pitching in the two close games.

The Lady ’Hounds made their statement immediately in the first inning Saturday as Jackie Elizondo (RBI single) and Clarissa Huerta (2-run double) drove home runs for a quick 3-0 lead. Huerta advanced to third on steal and Mel Ramirez’s RBI single brought her in to push the lead to four. When the third out was finally recorded, all nine Lady ’Hounds went to the plate and five hits were cranked out.

Needing an answer in the home half of the first, North got it when Faith Escobar hit the first of her two home runs, the first a two-run shot, to cut the lead in half. Escobar was valiant in defeat, going 2-for-3 with two home runs and 7 RBIs.

In the second, San Benito went quietly, and North came back up. Pitcher Amber Jasso, who got the start, was a bit shaky and eventually walked the bases loaded. Martinez then went to sophomore Crystal Castillo, who gave up Escobar’s second round-tripper, a grand slam as the Lady Cougars went ahead 6-4. However, Castillo and her defense were very effective the rest of the way.

“She (Castillo) was brought into a tough situation,” Martinez said. “She battled it out and hung tough. Our girls rallied around her. The thing about us is that regardless of who’s on the mound, our girls will respond and we battled back.”

Indeed, San Benito got its answer in the third when Clarissa Huerta led things off with a solo shot to make the score 6-5 North. Jasso, who was solid at the plate again, knocked in a run with a single to tie the game. Then Dina Trevino scored a bases-clearing triple off the right field wall to make it 9-6 Lady ’Hounds still with one out. Dorothy Millan (4-for-4) then raced home on a sacrifice fly as it was 10-6. When the dust settled, San Benito scored six runs on four hits in the frame.

Later with two walks to start the fourth, North starter Jacqueline Chapa was relieved by Escobar and the score remained 10-6 San Benito. North added a run in the fourth but Millan got it back with an RBI double as it was 11-7 SB in the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, North leaded the bases and rather than take a chance, Martinez elected to intentionally walk Escobar and bring a run in. The gutsy move was rewarded later as the Lady Cougars mustered only one run and a popout ended the inning at 11-9.

“We weren’t gonna let one girl beat us,” Martinez said of the move. “Faith is tough. She’d already brought in six runs. Fortunately, things ended up working out.”

Later, North’s last chance came in the seventh with the top of the order up. But Castillo and the defense got Vanessa Salazar, Klarissa Lopez and Escobar each to fly out to end the contest.

Meanwhile, the series with Eagle Pass has not been finalized as of Sunday, though indications from previous meetings would say the site being either Corpus Christi, San Antonio or possibly Laredo.

“We know them well since we’ve played them before,” Martinez said of the Lady Eagles. “We don’t know this year’s team that well, but we’ve got a week to prepare for them and we’ll get to work on Monday.”

But in the meantime, Martinez and the Lady ’Hounds can bask in two series sweeps to start the playoffs. This coming after District 31-5A was swept out of the first round.

“There were a lot of different things going and people questioned the validity of our record,” Martinez said. “I think our girls answered those questions. Bottom line is: Love us, like us or hate us, you’ve gotta respect us.”