by MARK CAUL
Lehman’s Cydney Ervin takes a solid cut at the plate during the Lady Lobos’ District 17-4A loss to Del Valle Friday night. (Photo by Judy Cooper)
Unfortunately, Lehman head softball coach Nikki Herrera saw it coming after her squad had just wrapped up an emotional come-from-behind win over San Marcos only a few days before.
Her softball squad was feeling good about itself and had the inside track on the district’s fourth and final playoff spot.
“I was worried that they would take Del Valle lightly and that’s what happened,” Herrera said. “They are a very good team and are well coached so I knew that they would be a challenge for us.”
Del Valle’s Maria Garcia went 3-for-4 keying the Cardinals’ offensive attack in their 3-1 win over Lehman in a key district matchup on Friday night.
Garcia lined a leadoff double two pitches into the game over centerfielder Monique Johnson’s head and also belted a triple, finishing with two RBIs on the evening.
The Cardinals had several players who had at least one hit in the win.
Lehman bounced back quickly in the bottom of the same inning as Liz Valderaz led off the third inning with a triple and was doubled home by Feliciana Torres a few pitches later.
Del Valle added a couple of insurance runs in the sixth when Garcia singled in Victoria Pineda and then Vanessa Rubio doubled to plate Pineda for the Cardinals (2-3 in 17 4-A).
“We just didn’t come out ready to play,” Valderaz said. “I don’t understand why. I guess we thought we were going to win this game easily.”
Torres took the pitching loss for the Lady Lobos as they fell into a tie for fifth with San Marcos with five games left on the district schedule.
“It’s important for us to win at least two of our next five games if we want to make the playoffs,” Herrera said. “We have put ourselves in a very tough situation.”
Lehman hosts rival Hays on Thursday night, beginning at 7 p.m.
