by MOSES LEOS III
Five innings was all it took for the Hays Lady Rebels to overwhelm their bi-district playoff opponent, San Antonio Jefferson, 12-0 on Friday night. From the first pitch to the last out, Hays dominated the Lady Mustangs, and, with an eight-run second inning, Hays run-ruled San Antonio Jefferson in the first round of the UIL playoffs.
The win advances the Lady Rebels to the Area (second) round, where they will face Cedar Park from District 25-4A. The game will be played Thursday and Friday, for best of 3 series. If needed, a Saturday game will be played.
Hays’ dominance began in the first inning. After lead-off batters Maddy Shannon and Addie Vayas reached base, seniors Hannah Ramsey and Clarissa Gonzalez followed with back-to-back RBI’s. Ramsey golfed a single down the right field line, with Gonzalez manufacturing a run via a sacrifice fly. Senior Brayden Pinckard highlighted the inning with a tremendous RBI triple to the left center field gap, capping off a three-run first for Hays.
“We like to score as many (runs) as we can early on; we want to be aggressive as we can,” said Hays head coach Aaron Fuller, about his team’s tenacity. Helping the Lady Rebels was Jefferson pitcher Mary Loera’s style of pitching. “We have worked the last couple of days to hit the style of pitching (Loera) was going to throw at us,” Fuller said. “I was pleased at our hitters, the way they made adjustments at the plate and swung the bats. Up and down the lineup, we swung the bat really well.”
Lady Rebel hitters demonstrated their tenacity at the plate in the second inning. The team sent a total of 12 batters to the plate, scoring eight runs on six hits. Pinckard, who finished the night 3 for 3 with three triples, scored two runs on an RBI triple in the second. “Once I saw that meatball, I stayed back and took it the other way,” Pinckard said.
Patience also played an integral part of the team’s big inning. “The focus is make good contact, to not get too anxious and stay patient,” Gonzalez said. “Patience is key when batting, especially when we are trying to score more runs. We just try to do what we do best when we are at the plate.” Also adding RBI’s in the second were Shannon, who scored two on a triple, Vayas, Ramsey, junior pitcher Sarah Leal and senior designated hitter Michelle Pesina.
From that point, Leal’s pitching took over the game. Her ability to control the tempo at the plate, continuously flummoxing Lady Mustang batters, helped her strike out eleven on the night. “I just knew to pound the strike zone, and keep 100 percent focus (in the circle),” Leal said. “As a pitcher, if you can do that, you’re good to go.”
Leal praised the effort of the defense, which kept the rare Jefferson base runner in check. “At the moment, the adrenaline was going,” Leal said. “But, I knew my defense was behind me.”
Hays closed out the contest by scoring one final run in the bottom of the fourth, as the Lady Rebels easily moved to the next round.
The Lady Rebels plan to continue their blistering run-scoring. “Our mentality is to not coast, to not settle on what we have done,” Gonzalez said.
Maintaining a high level of focus during practice becomes of great importance as the postseason rolls on. “We have to get focused during practice, and hope we can play as solid as we did tonight,” Fuller said. Pinckard agreed, adding, “We tell ourselves to practice how you play.”
