PSJA North Raiders get the best of Sharyland in bout

PHARR — There was a playoff spot at stake here at PSJA North’s softball field as the Raiders (19-13-1, 11-5) hosted the Sharyland Rattlers (14-10-1, 9-7) in a District 315A clash.

The Raiders, though, really showed up in the district bout as they sealed their playoff spot with a 10-5 win against the Sharyland Rattlers.

It was a game of offense as the Raiders started off strong with a score but the Rattlers were then buoyed in the second inning with three runs of their own.

Down by two at the bottom of the third, PSJA North had runners on first and second, Kamyla Guerra helped bring in a run after getting a base hit. In another sequence, the Raiders were able to capitalize for another score to knot it up, 3-3. Raelyn Mancias, the pitcher for PSJA North, did her job at keeping Sharyland at bay until the Rattlers were able to load the bases and get a score by a grounder at the top of the fifth.

The Raiders, though, were able to capitalize on their turn at-bat and knot it up at 4 through five innings.

After keeping the Rattlers at bay during their atbat at the top of the sixth, PSJA North responded with a six-run inning to give them the lead.

Natalie Hernandez hit a triple to bring momentum. Afterward, Vanessa Palacios hit it to right field for the RBI. Ava Lopez had herself a base hit to bring in two runners to increase the score.

PSJA North, with bases loaded, really put the pressure on Sharyland’s Natalie Chapa. Up 8-4, Layla Garza earned herself an RBI, then a sac popfly by Haylee Ramirez increased the score 10-4.

At the top of the seventh, Mia Blanco earned an RBI to try to climb the deficit, but Mancias and the Raiders’ defense proved to be too much. Mancias had seven strikeouts on the night.

Head Coach Brett Esparza said that he was proud of his team and staff after the district win.

“We finally got everything aligned at the end,” Esparza said after dodging an ice bath.

Now, the Raiders were scheduled to play Robert Vela (18-9, 11-5) this week to see who gets the better seeding in the playoffs.

“(We) just got to keep building momentum,” the coach said. “... Hopefully, the kids continue believing in themselves.”

The Raiders ended up winning that game on Monday, 6-4. They play Weslaco East in the first round of the playoffs.

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