Ladies win district, draw a bye





Slide! Port Aransas High School Lady Marlins player Savannah Ortiz slides during a game against LaVilla on Friday, April 22.

Slide! Port Aransas High School Lady Marlins player Savannah Ortiz slides during a game against LaVilla on Friday, April 22.

In a three-way tie for first place in District 32-A, the Lady Marlins headed into a two-game playoff series on Thursday, April 21.

They managed to win a slugfest against Benavides, 19-12, and then picked up a 9-6 win over La Villa to advance to bidistrict competition.

The winner of a bout between Center Point and a team yet to be announced will be the Lady Marlins’ next playoff series. That series will be May 6-7, but the location hasn’t been determined.

The Benavides game was “crazy,” Reaves said.

“The wind was blowing out (toward the outfield) at 25 miles an hour, which allowed Benavides to hit three home runs,” he said. “We have not given up more than two runs in any of our last 10 games, and gave up eight in the first two innings of this game.”

Reaves said he began to doubt if the Lady Marlins could win a slug fest, but the players were sure. They responded with 18 hits and 19 runs while holding the Lady Eagles to four in the remaining five innings.

Kelsey Ortiz got four hits in five trips to the plate; Savannah Ortiz, Tarryn Murray and Missy Gilbreath were each three for five; Bakar Sackschewsky got three in four trips and Brenna Martin was two for four.

Savannah Ortiz pitched all seven innings, striking out nine batters.

“This was a big game for us, and I was excited to see how the girls responded,” Reaves said.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H
BHS 4 4 0 2 1 0 1 12 5
PA 4 0 7 6 2 0 x 19 18

They responded just as firmly against La Villa, Reaves said.

“Once again, the wind was blowing out at 25 miles an hour,” he said. “The scoring didn’t get quite as crazy this game, but it was still a highscoring game, compared to most of the season.”

The Lady Marlins scored four runs in the first inning to take the lead and held it until the fourth, when La Villa edged ahead. However, the Port Aransas girls regained he lead in the fifth frame and never looked back.

The win was for the district championship and gave the Lady Marlins the number one seed in the playoffs.

Gilbreath took charge at the plate, getting three hits in four at-bats. Sackschewsky was two for four and Devan Murray and Bridget Aycock were each one for three.

Savannah Ortiz pitched the game, striking out three.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H
PA 4 0 1 0 2 0 2 9 10
LV 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 6 8


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