PSJA North gets best of Vela in playoff seeding showdown
PHARR — Two of the toughest squads coming out of District 31-5A clashed here Monday for a seeding situation in the playoffs.
Both the PSJA North Raiders and Robert Vela SaberCats finished with a 11-5 record in district, so this game was to see who earns the better seed.
The Raiders though, finished out on top, by getting the dub 6-4.
This was the third time this season that both squads duked it out. They split the season series 1-1 before this game.
At the top of the third, Raiders were up 2-1 with the 'Cats at bat.
Vela's strategy was to hit short to try to get on base. They had an opportunity to score with runners on the corners, but a popfly was caught by North's catcher.
At the bottom of the third, Vela's defense was keen to hold the Raiders at bay.
The fourth inning was a standstill and at the top of the fifth, it was three up and three down to hold Vela scoreless.
It wasn't until the bottom of the fifth where the Raiders were catapulted by their offense. Raelyn Mancias, who also pitches for the Raiders but not this game, read the first pitch and cracked it to centerfield for the RBI. In the next sequence, Kaylee Fonseca, who was pitching for the Raiders this game, hit a grounder that was fumbled by Vela's shortstop to load the bases. PSJA North's Vanessa Palacios hit it to centerfield for the 2 RBI and a spot on second base. Afterward, Ava Lopez hit it past the shortstop for a RBI single.
It was 6-1 for the Raiders going into the top of the sixth.
Fonseca had a strikeout for the first out of the inning and then Addison Cantu got a base hit to get the gears going for Vela. Then Vela was able to get runners on second and third. With two outs, Fonseca got herself her second strikeout of the inning to cool down the SaberCats.
Bottom of the sixth was null for the Raiders. At the top of the seventh, Vela was able to get some offense going as Elizabeth Morales earned herself an RBI. Then Addison Cantu cracked it to left field for the 2 RBI to bring it within two.
However, that was all she wrote as the 'Cats couldn't climb the deficit.
As for the playoffs, the Raiders will now play Weslaco East. The first game is Thursday at 7 p.m. over at Weslaco. Game 2 in that series will be Friday at 7 p.m. over at PSJA North's field. If there is a Game 3 needed, it will be Saturday. Time and place to be determined.
For the SaberCats, they will face Harlingen South. The first game is Thursday at Edinburg Vela at 6:30 p.m. Game 2 will be Friday at 6 p.m. over in Harlingen. Then, if a third game is needed it will be played 30 minutes after Game 2.