Pioneer puts PSJA Memorial in its place with district dub

ALAMO — The Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks (10-4, 9-1) remain on top of the District 31-5A standings as they routed the PSJA Memorial Wolverines (14-10, 5-5) on Tuesday, 8-1.

The victory for the D'Backs now solidifies a four-game winning streak for the squad. As for the Wolverines, the loss snaps their two-game district streak.

It was a bit of a slow start as neither team could get on the board in the first two innings. But after three, it was 1-0 Diamondbacks as they were able to get an RBI for the advantage.

At the top of the fourth, PSJA Memorial looked to be in decent shape in stopping the offensive showcase that Pioneer is known to put on.

PIoneer's Gianna Madera hit a double to left field to get on base. Afterward, Averey Luna threw a strikeout and Alorey Luna caught a popfly from a bunt to give two outs with a runner on second.

However, that's when trouble seeped in for the Wolverines.

An error by the shortstop put a runner on first and third. Lily Jirovec took advantage of the placement and hit it to left field, but after a drop by the center fielder and a bad throw, it brought in two runners to make it 3-0 Pioneer.

Another sequence had a runner go to first but the first baseman was off the bag for what should’ve been an out. Pioneer capitalized off a wild pitch by Averey Luna, which brought in another run for Pioneer.

A catch by third baseman, Vanessa Lopez, got the Wolverines out of a tough inning.

Pioneer led by 4-0 going into the bottom of the fourth.

Tristyn Galvan, pitcher for Pioneer, was consistent throughout the game at keeping the Wolverines at bay from scoring.

She was also a tool for the team on the offensive end of things as at the top of the fifth, she hit a grounder to centerfield. Afterward, a sacrificial bunt by Alexia Robledo then put a runner on second. Ultimately, an error by PSJA Memorial allowed Galvan to walk in to make it 5-0.

Defense by Pioneer was fine-tuned as Galvan had two strikeouts at the bottom of the fifth and grounders wouldn't get past the shortstops.

Top of the sixth, the Wolverine defense retired the first three batters.

Bottom of sixth, Galvan had another strikeout, but a hit by Averey Luna and some errors by Pioneer placed her at third base. Prisela Maldonado got the single RBI to make it 5-1.

There were a couple of times at the bottom of the sixth and seventh where the Wolverines had opportunities to chip at the deficit but things just didn't go their way. At the bottom of the seventh, they even had the bases loaded at one point.

For Pioneer, they were able to gain three more runs at the top of the seventh — especially after Karen Quintanilla hit an RBI double to bring it 7-1. A sacrificial pop fly brought in another run to seal the deal at 8-1.

Despite the couple of scares at the bottom of the sixth and seventh where the Wolverines were in scoring position, Pioneer Head Coach Orlando Garcia simply said the team trusts their pitcher. More so, despite the slow start in the first couple of innings, Garcia advised the team that the scoring will come.

"You know, if we hold our water, and we weather the storm, then we know towards the end, (the pitcher Averey Luna), lays off a little bit," he said.

This Friday, though, a tough game at home against PSJA North is coming up, who is right on the heels of the Diamondbacks in second place within District 31-5A. The Raiders are coming off a 11-0 win against PSJA Southwest.

"They've got a good program. You konw, we've kind of been toe-to-toe. Last year, we split. You know we beat them the first time," he said. "So, let's see what happens, you know, this time we get them at home. And we go from there. Whatever happens, and leave it on the field."

Pioneer faces PSJA North in Mission on Friday at 7 p.m.