PSJA Bears silence Weslaco in clash of softball powerhouses
SAN JUAN — This was a game that had people on their feet to see and that's not because there were no seats available here at Josefina S. Ayala Softball Field.
The PSJA Bears and Weslaco Panthers — the top two teams in the RGV — clashed in their first district meetup on Friday. The Bears, though, batted their way to 10-0 dub to stay on top of the 31-6A boards.
The win lifts PSJA up to 19-1 on the season, with a 3-0 record. For the Panthers, the loss, drops them to 18-5-1 overall, with a 2-1 record in district.
On paper, both of these teams are somewhat equal as in both of their district outings prior to this game, each has scored over 10 runs while blanking their opponents.
Emma Escamilla, who proved to be an essential tool pitching and hitting against the Panthers, threw a no-hitter in five innings. She also had a homerun that flew over the fence in left field at the bottom of the 2nd inning.
"We were so locked in from the beginning, the beginning of the week, we knew this was gonna be a great game," Escamilla said, who had 10 strikeouts on the night. "We were just gonna lock in the whole time."
From the start, those watching knew the Bears were indeed locked in on defense as it took about six entire minutes to retire the Panthers' first at-bat of the game.
Weslaco's Madelynn Cantu, who is the pitcher, had her hands full right from the jump as the Bears were able to fill the bases quickly during the bottom of the first. Kaylie Lopez was able to hit the ball off the glove of Weslaco's third baseman for the RBI single. With two outs and bases loaded, a walk put the Bears up 2-0. Afterward, Nina Guerra hit a grounder to the left for another RBI.
After the first, it was 3-0, Bears leading.
Escamilla was able to get two strikeouts at the top of the second to retire Weslaco. She averaged about two strikeouts an inning.
Bottom of the second, Arianna "Ari" Lugo hit a grounder but an error by Weslaco got her on base. The Panthers' defense looked a bit rattled as Aubrey Garza hit a ball out to the field that should've been an easy out but allowed an RBI single. After that, to add more to the bleeding, Escamilla then hit a two-run homer, which was her sixth of the season.
It was 6-0 Bears after the second.
The Bears were able to hold off the Panthers' offense and then used that momentum at the bottom of the third as a couple of errors and wild pitches helped catapult PSJA in scoring position. Lugo then cracked it again to left field for a couple RBIs. It was 9-0 after three.
There was a pitching change for Weslaco, but Lugo was able to get another RBI at the bottom of the fifth to seal the deal with the 10th run.
Last season, the Bears lost both outings against the Panthers and finished as the runner-up in a competitive 31-6A.
Head Coach Alyssa Garza said that this year it was important for the team to play to their full potential when facing a tough Weslaco team.
"It was making sure that we played the full seven-inning games, right?" Garza said. "(And) not allowing them to gain any momentum."
In their third district game, no runs have been allowed by the Bears.
"Emma's doing a hell of a job on the mound," the coach said. "And even Ivanna (Salas) came out to pitch against (Economedes). We're just being solid on defense."
She even took note of the great hitting that the Bears have been performing, despite the tenacious defense.
"They're becoming very disciplined at the plate," she said. "... So we're continuing to see the ball well, and what we're practicing — the situational hitting — has really paid off."
PSJA will play Lyford on Tuesday, while Weslaco will look to bounce back against Laredo Alexander on Monday.