By Brian Argabright
With one more win necessary to advance to the playoffs, the Queens softball team had the tying run sitting on third with two outs.
But the runner would advance no further as Laredo Alexander got Alexis Salinas to ground out to end an instant classic between the Queens and Lady Bulldogs and give Alexander the 13-12 win to claim the fourth seed in District 30-6A Monday evening in a play-in game in San Antonio.
It was fitting that the two teams that split the regular season series and ended the regular season tied in district went down to the wire in their third meeting of the year.
The loss spoiled what was a career day for Del Rio freshman Hope Martinez. Martinez went 4-for-5, driving in seven runs and missing just the home run for the cycle. But the fact she did not score despite reaching base four times was one of the problems the Queens faced on the day.
Del Rio opened the game with a run in the first inning as Ithalia Ozuna, who hadn’t been on a lineup card since early March, tripled to right field and eventually scored on Martinez’s first single of the day.
After Alexander tied the game in the bottom of the first, the Queens exploded for four runs in the second to grab a 5-1 lead.
Kayla Mendoza led off with a single. After a sacrifice bunt moved her to second, she would score on a triple off the bat of Syann Casillas, who would score on Ari Alcaraz’s double to right centerfield.
Ozuna walked and Desi Rodriguez singled to load the bases for Giselle Valdez, whose sacrifice fly was deep enough to plate two runs and give the Queens a four-run lead.
Alexander stormed back in the bottom of the second, scoring five runs on two hits and three Del Rio errors, to take its first lead of the game, 6-5.
Despite put runners on base in the third and fourth innings, the Queens failed to add to their total and by the time the fifth inning came around, Del Rio found itself down 8-5.
The Queens cut the deficit to two runs as Valdez doubled and scored on Martinez’s second single.
But the Lady Bulldogs tacked on two more runs to its lead in the fifth and carried a 10-6 lead into the sixth inning.
Del Rio answered the bell in the sixth, tying the game at 10-10.
With one out, Alcaraz singled to right field. Ozuna was able to reach base on an error by Alexander’s third baseman, and Rodriguez loaded the bases when she was hit by an Alexander pitch.
Up stepped Valdez, but Alexander learned its lesson from the last time the two teams played when she smashed three triples in a 19-13 Queens win. Laredo intentionally walked Valdez for the second time in the game, bringing home Alcaraz to make the score 10-7.
Martinez was next up and she ripped a double just inside the left field line. Ozuna, Rodriguez and Valdez came around to score and tie the game at 10-10. After Salinas was hit by a pitch, Mendoza hit a line drive that hit the right fielder and bounced away. However a slight hesitation by the Queens on the line drive slowed Martinez down enough that she was thrown out at home on a relay throw from the second baseman.
Jada Bishop was intentionally walked to load the bases. Queens head coach Nufie Rodriguez sent up Ashley Salinas to pinch hit and she delivered a ball to right field, but she was thrown out at first base for the third out before Del Rio could score the go-ahead run.
Alexander would again reclaim the lead in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three runs on two hits and one big error to take a 13-10 lead into Del Rio’s final at-bat.
Del Rio would not go quietly.
Alcaraz led off the seventh with a single. After Ozuna’s sacrifice bunt moved Alcaraz to second, and Rodriguez was retired on strikes, Valdez moved to first after she was hit by a pitch. Again Martinez stepped in and again the freshman took advantage of the moment, ripping a triple to right field to score two runs and make it a 13-12 game.
But that was as close as the Queens would get as Ashley Salinas grounded out to end the game. Alexander will now face the San Antonio Warren Lady Warriors, who are undefeated on the season and ranked as the No. 1 team in the state in Class 6A at 22-0.
The loss was the final high school softball game for seniors Alcaraz, Valdez, Rodriguez and Alexis Salinas.
