By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
PORTLAND, TX—In their Class 6A area game at Gregory-Portland High School last Friday, the Lady ‘Hounds played a one-game series against the Buda Johnson Lady Jaguars and lost 13-2.
The game was delayed by an hour and a half due to inclement weather. Under much cooler conditions, however, the Buda Johnson bats went hot.
The Lady Jaguars had 15 hits spread throughout the game and showed great patience at the plate, walking six times to create scoring opportunities. Johnson scored immediately in the top of the first inning, giving the Lady Jaguars a 4-0 lead.
The Lady ‘Hounds didn’t appear fazed, however, as leadoff hitter Kaitlyn Blanco reached base on a walk, followed by junior Evelynn Hinojosa and freshman Elilah Gallegos, each of whom recorded an outfield single.
Blanco scored SBHS’s lone run from second on Gallegos’ hit to the outfield gap.
Unfortunately for the Lady ’Hounds, Buda Johnson recorded a rare triple play when freshman Khloe Perez’s infield hit was fielded by pitcher Bridgett Alviar, who threw out Hinojosa at third and Gallegos at first.
The momentum from Buda Johnson’s defensive play didn’t immediately translate into runs, however.
In fact, the Lady ‘Hounds closed the gap in the third inning when leadoff sophomore Isabella Gonzalez reached base on a walk. She advanced to second on Rodriguez’s sacrifice bunt. Hinojosa then got a hit, a double to the outfield gap between center and left field, scoring Gonzalez.
The SBHS bats then went silent for the rest of the game, with the lone hit coming in the fifth on Rodriguez’s two-out single to left field. By then, Buda Johnson had already built an 8-2 lead.
A five-run sixth inning enabled Buda Johnson to run-rule the Lady ‘Hounds, who were on the short end of a double play to end the game.
Medina went 2-for-3, including a walk in the final inning. She was left on base twice.
In defense of the Lady ‘Hounds, they made contact with Johnson’s pitches, and five of their outs went into the outfield, but none into the gap, which would have given the team ample opportunities to move around the bases. SBHS batters were walked five times and struck out just four times.
As the game progressed, Buda Johnson base runners repeatedly broke from the first base bag in an attempt to steal before SBHS starting pitcher Arielle Hernandez released the ball from the mound. SBHS Head Coach Kristy Leal protested to the umpire, but to no avail. It was not until the fifth inning that Buda Johnson was called out for moving too early, ending a scoring threat.
It was SBHS’s second consecutive loss in the area round. Last year, San Benito fell to San Antonio East Central.
The Lady ’Hounds’ final season record is 23-10-1. Buda Johnson advances to the third round with a 23-10 season record.
Coach Leal said she met with other district coaches on Thursday to finalize the all-district team. She also said that the team and individual stats will be available on MaxPreps.com this week.