Lady Lions advance after bi-district win

By LPR Staff

Editor/POST-REGISTER

In two games that could not have been more different, the Lady Lion Varsity Softball Team closed last weekend with another Bi-District Championship in their belts, and a bid for the Area Championships in Pflugerville on Friday night.

During Game One of the best-of-three series, on Friday, April 25,

the Lady Lions came out of the dugout on with a spark, putting up two runs in the first inning, and then catching fire with six more runs in the second, including a three-run home run from the bat of Cheyenne Martin and RBI singles from Aslynn Garcia and Katrina Mills.

Although the Lady Bears answered with one run in the third inning, the Lady Lions came back with four more, increasing their lead to 12-1 and leading to an eventual fifth-inning run-rule victory for the Lady Lions.

Garcia had a perfect day, boosting her batting average by going 3-3. Both Bella Ybarra and Zierra Gonzales recorded singles in the game, and pitcher Gabby Ybarra was sharp in the circle.

She allowed only two hits and one earned run, while walking one and striking out six during the five innings.

On Saturday morning, the teams returned to the Northeast ISD Softball Complex, each with something to settle – and the Lady Bears came back with something to prove.

For most of the day, the pitchers had a tough time, with 25 combined runs being put on the board between the two teams on the way to the Lady Lions’ eventual 14-11 victory. Batters picked up a total of 26 hits, including eight extra base hits in the game.

After taking a scalding on Friday evening, the SA Edison Lady Bears came back on Saturday ready to play, and put five quick runs on the board in the first inning, while the Lady Lions’ bats were slow to get started.

The score held fast through the second, as the Lady Lion defense started making plays, but the offense continued to slog until the third inning, when the Lady Lions started a rally that cut the Lady Bears’ lead to 5-3.

The Lady Lions went ahead in the third, after an BI was followed by a stand-up double from Katrina Mills good for two runs, putting the Lady Lions up 6-5. It was the first of five lead changes in the game, which from the third inning forward, remained a tight contest.

After Edison trading runs for the next two innings, the Lady Lions took the lead for the last time when Martin pounded a three-run double to the center-field fence. After that, the Lady Lions were able to hang on for the 14-11 victory.

Martin, Gonzales, Mills and B. Ybarra combined for six hits and eight RBIs on the afternoon.

Moira Salinas took the win in relief, pitching one and two-thirds innings for the Lady Lions and allowing three runs.

The wins in San Antonio pushed the Lady Lions forward to the second round of the playoffs, in which they will face the Leander Rouse Lady Raiders at Pflugerville Hendrickson High School Softball Field, 2905 FM 685, in Pflugerville, on Friday, May 2, 2014, at 7 p.m.

Watch the Post-Register on Facebook for inning-by-inning updates, and pick up next week’s Post-Register to see a full recap of the Area Championships.