Lady Eagles 2018 Bi-District Champions

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LADY EAGLES BI-DISTRICT SOFTBALL DIAMOND NEWS

Lady Eagles Bi-District Champions

Take 2 of 3 over McAllen Nikki Rowe

B. Diaz & K. Galvan spearhead victory

By: Conrado Perez, Jr. – Eagle Pass Sports Central

“Your best and only source for local sports news in Eagle Pass”

The Eagle Pass Lady Eagles who finished third in District 29-6A this season journeyed to Laredo, Texas on Friday, April 27, 2018 to open the best of three series for the UIL Region IV Class 6A Bi-District softball crown by squaring off against the McAllen Nikki Rowe Lady Warriors who were the runner-up champions in District 30-6A in a 7:00 PM opening game of this series at the Laredo ISD Zachry Softball Complex. The talented Lady Eagles were venturing into the post season for the 16th consecutive year and their 20th overall in their illustrious 25 year in the history of their program,

The Lady Eagles came into this series led by their yearlong leading hitter as well as their top RBI producer their standout junior catcher Brooke Diaz who leads the team with a whopping .442 batting average who is a legitimate NCAA Division I prospect as well as their next two top hitters Alexandra Martinez with a .409 batting average and Leslie Martinez with a .403 batting average. Also expected to contribute will be Lorelei Morales, Lee Ann Dunn, the versatile Kayla Ochoa, Heather Ruiz who has the fourth best batting average on the team sporting a batting average of .381, along with Lashay Ryes and Kaylynne Ruiz. A big key to this series will be entrusted into the pitching arm of stellar junior hurler Kaitlin Galvan as well as relief specialist Leenette Krezdorn who will need to be dominant inside the circle, Another integral part of this series will be how well the Lady Eagles perform on defense where they have had their share of problems with costly errors especially with their infielders.

GAME 1

Just as I stated in the introduction, the Lady Eagles defense or the lack of continued to haunt them as they committed four horrendous errors on routine plays by their infielders who paved the way for a 6 to 5 stunning loss at the hands of the Lady Warriors. The Lady Eagles threatened in the top of the first when Heather Ruiz reached on an error, Brooke Diaz reached on a fielder’s but the Lady Eagles stranded both runners in scoring position on an inning ending double play.

In the bottom of the first the Lady Warriors tallied a lone run on a pair of fielding errors by the Lady Eagles to take a 1to 0 lead over the Lady Eagles, The Lady Eagles erased the one run deficit with a two run production in the top of the third with Lee Ann Dunn leading off the frame with a solid single, Kayla Ochoa beat out an infield hit, with one out Brooke Diaz came through with a ringing RBI double to drive in Lee Ann Dunn, Alexandra Martinez brought home Kayla Ochoa with an RBI groundout to short to give the Lady Eagles a 2 to1 lead.

In the bottom of the third the Lady Warriors tallied another lone run to knot up the score on a pair of hits and yet another costly Lady Eagles error. The Lady Warriors broke up the tie with another lone run in the bottom of the fourth to take a 3 to 2 lead over the Lady Eagles. Surprisingly Lady Eagles’ starting pitcher Kaitlin Galvan was replaced by reliever Leenette Krezdorn in the fifth inning even though Galvan had only allowed one earned run but was hurt by the three errors the Lady Eagles had committed up to that point.

In the top of the sixth the proud Lady Eagles responded with a big three run output to regain the lead in this best of three series opener with Alexandra Martinez leading off the frame launching a moon shot solo homerun way over the left field fence to knot up the score, Leslie Martinez followed with a fence rattling double, Lorelei Morales reach on an infield hit, with one out pinch hitter Emily Snyder brought home the go ahead run reaching on a fielder’s choice which brought home Leslie Martinez who slid safely at home underneath the catcher’s tag with Emily Snyder taking second on the play and drew a throw from the catcher with Lorelei trying to score on the throw to second but she was thrown out at the plate. Lashay Reyes replaced Snyder at second and she scored on an RBI single by Lee Ann Dunn which unfortunately would have easily brought home Lorelei Morales home also if only she would have stayed third instead of being sent home on the previous play but nevertheless the Lady Eagles now had a 5 to 3 lead in this game.

But the lead did not last long as the Lady Warriors rallied with a two out three run production in the bottom of the sixth starting with an infield hit, a single, and then came the real death blow with the game changing fourth costly error by the Lady Eagles which brought home one run followed by a two strike two RBI triple on an unheard of hanging changeup to give the Lady Warriors a 6 to 5 lead heading to the top of the seventh where the Lady Eagles went down quietly to give the McAllen Nikki Rowe the stunning 6 to 5 victory over the Lady Eagles to take a 1 to 0 lead in this best of three series. Leenette Krezdorn took the pitching loss.

Score by Innings: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

EPHS LADY EAGLES 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 5 8 4

McALLEN NIKKI ROWE 1 0 1 1 0 3 x 6 9 2

Losing Pitcher: Leenette Krezdorn Leading Hitters: Lee Ann Dunn 2 for 3 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI, Emily Snyder 1 for 1 with 1 RBI, Alexandra Martinez 1 for 3 with 1 run scored and 2 RBI’s including a solo homerun, Brooke Diaz 1 for 3 with 1 RBI, Heather Ruiz 2 for 4, Leslie Martinez 1 for 4 with 1 run scored and Lashay Reyes 1 run scored.

GAME 2

In game 2 of this series the Lady Eagles came out completely focused and ready to play from the onset of this contest as they came out swing red hot bats in the home half of the very first inning with a three run production with Heather Ruiz reaching on a one out double, Brooke Diaz followed with a solid single Alexandra Martinez lifted an RBI sacrifice fly to left field to bring home Heather Ruiz, Lorelei Morales connected with an RBI single to drive in Brooke Diaz, Kaylynne Ruiz stroked and RBI double to tally Lorelei Morales to give the Lady Eagles a 3 to 0 lead over the Lady Warriors.

This would prove to be way more than enough for three year standout starting pitcher Kaitlin Galvan who completely dominant and unhittable in this game as she went the distance with five complete innings of work allowing just one unearned run, scattered only two hits and registered four strikeouts in this game.

In the bottom of the second the Lady Eagles supported by their ever present Loyal Legion of fans increased their lead with another three run rally with Lee Ann Dunn leading off the frame with a walk, Kayla Ochoa reached on an infield hit as did Leslie Martinez to load the bases for their stellar power hitting catcher who cleared the bases with a boom three RBI double to bring home Lee Ann Dunn, Kayla Ochoa and Leslie Martine to give the Lady Eagles a 6 to 0 lead.

In the top of the fourth the Lady Warriors tallied their only run of this game on a pair of Lady Eagles errors an one base hit but the red hot Lady Eagles continued their hitting and scoring assault in the bottom of the fourth with their third three run outburst with Kayla Ochoa leading off the frame with a solid double into the gap, Leslie Ochoa laid down a sac bunt to advance Kayla Ochoa over to third, Brooke Diaz continued to swing a scorching hot bat as she connected with an RBI single giving her four RBI’s in this game up to this point as Kayla Ochoa trotted home on the play, Heather Ruiz who was moved to the three spot in the lineup stroked a single to advance courtesy runner Paola Daniel over to third, Alexandra Martinez lifted an RBI sac fly to left to bring home Paola Daniel, Lorelei Morales belted an RBI single to drive in Heather Ruiz giving the Lady Eagles a comfortable 9 to 1 lead.

The Lady Eagles then brought an early conclusion to this game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth with Kayla Ochoa connecting a one out single and promptly used her speed to get into scoring position by stealing second, with two outs, Brooke Diaz stepped up to the plate and hit a bomb deep over the right centerfield wall against a strong cross wind going from right to left for a walk off game winning two run homerun finish this game with a sensational 4 for 4 at the plate with 1run score and a whopping 6 RBI’s to force a game 3 as the Lady Eagle enforced the 10-run rule taking the game by the final score of 11 to1 with Katie Galvan earning the pitching victory

Score by Innings: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

McALLEN NIKKI ROWE 0 0 0 1 0 x x 1 2 0

EPHS LADY EAGLES 3 3 0 3 2 x x 11 15 1

Winning Pitcher: Kaitlin Galvan Leading Hitters: Brooke Diaz 4 for 4 with 1 run scored and 6 RBI’s including a game winning walk off two run homerun, Kayla Ochoa 3 for 3 with 3 runs scored, Lorelei Morales 3 for 3 with 1 run scored and 2RBI’s, Kaylynne Ruiz 2 for 3 with 1 RBI, Heather Ruiz 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored, Leslie Martinez 1 for 3 with 1 run scored, Paola Daniel 2 runs scored, Lee Ann Dunn 1 run scored and Alexandra Martinez 2 RBI’s

GAME 3

The winner of game 3 would advance to the Area round while the loser would be eliminated from the post season. the proud Lady Eagles with the Loyal Legion of Lady Eagles fans now at a fever frenzy cheering their hearts out for their beloved Lady Eagles managed to dent the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in the top of the third with Lee Ann Dunn drawing a one out walk Leslie Martinez reached safely on a fielder’ choice, with two outs Heather Ruiz hit a soft ground ball to second base seemingly would end the inning but the Nikki Rowe second baseman threw wildly to first for a costly error which enabled Both Lee An Dunn and Leslie Martinez to race home on the play to give the Lady Eagles a 2 to 0 lead which they would not relinquish the rest of the way as fire balling starting pitcher Kaitlin Galvan continued her dominance inside the pitching circle hurling another brilliant perforce with four complete scoreless innings allowing just one harmless hit in this game. For her truly outstanding pitchimg performance Katie was selected the Player of the Game by MaxPreps.

In the top of the fourth the Lady Eagle added another pair of runs with Kaylynne Ruiz reaching on a one out walk, Lashay Reyes singled, Lee Ann Dunn stroked an RBI single to drive in pinch runner Paola Daniel, with two outs Leslie Martinez connected with an RBI single to bring home Lashay Reyes to give the Lady Eagles a 4 to 0 lead.

In the top of the fifth the Lady Eagles pretty much put this game out of reach with a huge seven run production highlighted by pinch hitter Janessa Garza who blasted a three run homerun to straight away centerfield to give the Lady Eagles an 11 to 0 lead and needing just three outs to bring early conclusion to this game.

In the bottom of the fifth Leenette Krezdorn took over the pitching chores from Kaitlin Galva but the game was prolonged as the Lady Warriors tallied two runs in that frame on four base hits,

In the top of the sixth the Lady Eagles got those two runs back on back to back singles by Lortelei Morales and Kaylynne Ruiz, Lashay Reyes drew a walk to load the bases, Karina Ruiz followed with a two RBI single to bring home Lorelei Morales and Kaylynne Ruiz to give the Lady Eagles a 13 to 2 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth young pitcher Alyssa Galvan took over the pitching chores from Leenette Krezdorn and closed the series with back to back strikeouts to give the Lady Eagles the bi-district championship by the final score of 13 to 2 to take the series two games to one with Kaitlin Galvan earning the pitching victory as jubilation ran wild on the Eagle Pass Lady Eagles side of the diamond.

After the disappointing performance in game one, the proud Lady Eagles dominated both games on Saturday outscoring the Lady Warriors 24 to 3, out hit the Lady Warriors 27 to 7 and out powered the Lady Warriors 3 homeruns to none. Eagle Pass Sports Central congratulates the mighty Lady Eagles in winning the bi-district championship and is proud to be the only local sports entity to have covered the entire Eagle Pass Lady Eagles softball season. Way to Go Lady Eagles!

The victorious Eagle Pass Lady Eagles improve their overall season record to 18 wins with 11 losses and thus advance to the UIL Region IV Class 6A Area Round where they will face the Edinburg Lady Bobcats in a best two out of three series with dates, times and sites yet to be determined.

Score by Innings: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

EPHS LADY EAGLES 0 0 2 2 7 2 x 13 12 1

McALLEN NIKKI ROWE 0 0 0 0 2 0 x 2 5 2

Winning Pitcher: Kaitlin Galvan Leading Hitters: Lashay Reyes 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI, Kaylynne Ruiz 2 for 3 with 1 run scored and 2 RBI’s, Leslie Martine 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. Janessa Garza 1 for 1 with 1 run scored and 3 RBI’s on a pinch hit three run homerun, Lee Ann Dunn 1 for 2 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI, Alexandra Martinez 1 for 3 with 1 run scored, Heather Ruiz 1 for 3 with 1 run scored and 3 RBI’s, Karina Ruiz 1 for 1 with 2 RBI’s, Lorelei Morales 1 for 4 with 2 runs scored, and Paola Daniel 1 run scored.

2018 District 29-6A

Softball Standings:

SOUTH SAN 13-1

SOUTHWEST 12-2

EAGLE PASS 10-4

LAREDO ALEXANDER 9-5

LAREDO UNITED 5-9

DEL RIO 3-11

UNITED SOUTH 2-12

LAREDO LBJ 2-12

UIL REGION IV BI-DISTRICT PLAYOFFS

South San vs. McAllen Best 2 out of 3 series

Game 1 South San won 18 to 1

Game 2 South San won 13 to 3

South San advances

Southwest vs. McAllen Memorial One game series

Game 1 Southwest won 16 to 0

Southwest advances

Eagle Pass vs. McAllen Nikki Rowe Best 2 out of 3 series

Game 1 McAllen Nikki Rowe won 6 to 5

Game 2 Eagle Pass won 11 to 1

Game 3 Eagle Pass won 13 to 2

Eagle Pass advances

Laredo Alexander vs. La Joya Best 2 out of 3 series

Game 1 Laredo Alexander won 3 to 2

Game 2 La Joya won 11 to 5

Game 3 Laredo Alexander won 11 to 4

Laredo Alexander advances