It was fun while it lasted

Just like that, the area softball season is over. It was here, and now, poof! It’s gone.

OK, now with the onomatopoeia over with, I’d like to recap some of the best moments from the 2007 season.

But before that, here’s wishing good luck to the only remaining Valley team, the La Joya Lady Coyotes.

La Joya (30-5), the Valley Morning Star’s top-ranked team for the most part of the season, will face San Antonio Taft in the regional semifinals, or the Sweet 16.

Again, good luck to those ladies and I’m sure they’ve got all of the Valley’s softball fans behind them.

Five events from ’07

OK, for lack of space, here are just a few of the top moments I will remember from this past season (in alphabetical order):

*Amaris Hernandez’s towering home run versus Raymondville

The only round-tripper I saw in person this season. Hernandez had four on the year, however. But on this night, Hernandez showed some pop, but flied out several times against Raymondville.

With the game pretty much in hand, Hernandez teed off on a 1-1 offering and launched the pitch into the yard of a house just beyond the left field fence. Lyford won 12-2.

*Harlingen pitcher Jennifer Garcia hurls 34 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings

For a while, Garcia was simply as on fire as they come.

She was on so much of a hot streak, that she had a scoreless innings streak that lasted 34 2/3 innings.

She also had a couple of one-hitters, as Harlingen made it back to the playoffs.

* San Benito’s Jo Ann Herrera storms on to the scene

When San Benito pitcher Jo Ann Herrera’s sister Jackie went down with an arm injury early in the season, the freshman stepped up in a big way.

Overall, Herrera went 23-4 on the campaign, and she had a couple of lights-out performances along the way.

She had a perfect game and three no-hitters this year, most if not all of them in district play.

Santa Rosa’s inaugural season a success

When the season started, not much was expected from the first-year program at Santa Rosa.

After beating some larger clubs to win the Hidalgo Tournament, (Edcouch-Elsa, Valley View, La Feria and Hidalgo) coach Tuffy Martinez and his bunch weren’t finished. They clinched the third place spot in 32-2A and finished 12-10.

Talk about a foundation for the future.

South’s Krystal Leon fires no-hitter on same night as baseball’s Danny Gidora.

On March 20, both South hurlers threw no-nos.

Leon, a sophomore, threw hers in a 13-0 blanking at Edinburg Economedes.

She went five innings, striking out eight and allowing only one walk for South.

The same night, Gidora fired his no-no for the baseball Hawks.

A rare occurrence indeed.

So again, it was a fantastic season for all of the area clubs. If you’ve got a chance, support La Joya, the Valley’s last team in the postseason this weekend.

Here’s to a great offseason, where I’m sure there will be plenty of summer ball played. We’ll see you all (and Infield Chatter) next 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