The last two left in the tango
And then there were two. Only two area softball clubs remain alive in the state playoffs this week.
That pair is Ray-mondville and Mercedes, who are both in the regional quarterfinals.
Just like last week, we’ll have an in-depth preview on these games later.
But here’s a quick glance.
Mercedes vs. C.C. Moody
The Lady Tigers of Mercedes will face a tough test in Corpus Christi Moody.
Mercedes (25-6) got this far by playing great ball last week against San Antonio South San. They swept two Saturday games after losing Game 1.
Now they take on Moody starting Thursday at Corpus Christi’s Cabaniss Softball Diamond. The Lady Trojans (26-6) won District 30-4A. Super pitcher Brittany Johnson, who’s complied a 23-5 record this season, leads the way. Moody dropped in classification this past season from Class 5A.
The Lady Trojans, in the regional quarterfinals for the second time in three years, also plays great defense, as shown by their 2-1 win over Kingsville in Area.
In that game, Johnson walked only one and struck out 10.
But Mercedes has some dominating pitching of its own.
Juniors Jessy Cadena, Alyssa Martinez and Amanda Guzman have been the catalysts for Coach Betty Morrell’s club.
Cadena is the ace of the staff, evidenced by her 12-1 record. Martinez follows closely with an 8-1 mark and Guzman has been a solid 7-2.
While Mercedes does have some other weapons, the pitching staff has been arguably the best in the Valley.
Plus, they’ll have at least one game at home. Game 2 is set for Friday at 6 p.m. A would-be Game 3 is scheduled for 30 minutes afterward.
Raymondville vs. Yoakum
Raymondville will face Yoakum (28-5) at Calallen Thursday and Saturday in their Region IV- Class 3A regional quarterfinal series.
Notice the “and” part. Game 1 is Thursday night and Game 2 is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. Should a third game be needed, it will be played a half hour after Game 2.
Last week in area, the Lady Kats took on Aransas Pass last week and pulled out a 3-2 win.
Raymondville got some clutch hitting by Deborah Barnhart, whose two-run double pushed the Lady Kats ahead.
Starter Darlene Hernandez pitched well and also helped her cause with a hit against Aransas Pass.
A strength for the Lady Kats is also in the center circle.
Other than Hernandez, April Huerta and Adrianna Barron can also pitch for Raymondville.
We don’t know too much about Yoakum just yet, but we’ll get some information in time for the game.
Great seasons
A quick congratulations to the four teams that bowed out last week.
Those are: Coach Belinda Treviño and La Feria, Lyford and coach Andy Peña, San Benito and coach Elias Martinez, and finally, Weslaco and coach Mario Rodriguez.
Nora & TAMUK go dancing
I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate former Harlingen pitcher Nora Aguilar and the Texas A&M-Kingsville Lady Javelinas (34-20) for qualifying for the NCAA Division-II Softball Championships.
This is TAMUK’s first berth in the dance since 2003.
Aguilar, a 2004 Harlingen grad, was selected to the first team on the All-Lone Star Conference-South team.
She had 20-9 record this season, and had a 1.94 earned run average. In addition, Aguilar is just the third pitcher in school history to win at least 20 games in a season.
Armando Garza covers high school softball for the Valley Morning Star. He can be reached at 956-430-6255 or at armandog@valleystar.com
