Lyford's hopes of making Elite Eight dashed by LaGrange

SINTON — The LaGrange Lady Leopards packed plenty of bats Saturday.

Now, they’ll pack their bags for the Elite Eight.

Powered by a 15-hit attack, LaGrange (32-5) shut out Lyford 9-0 in Game 2 and earned a sweep in their regional semifinal series. They’ll face the Needville-Ingleside winner in next week’s regional final. Lyford’s successful season ends with a second straight Sweet 16 trip and a 27-5 mark.

"They (LaGrange) came out smokin’ at the plate," Lyford coach Eloy Perez said. "They’re a great club and I told the girls we didn’t lose to somebody that didn’t deserve to be here."

The game was the last for eight Lyford seniors, including starters Maria Lopez, Lexi Lopez, Marissa Chavez and Miranda Perez. Also graduating are reserves Nanette Salinas, Alex Sauceda, Annie Garcia and Marlina Rivera.

"I’m especially proud of our girls and those eight seniors I had for two years," Perez said of his group. "It was a lot of fun and I wouldn’t trade them for the world."

After miscues contributed to Friday’s 5-0 Game 1 loss, LaGrange left no doubt on Saturday: They’re solid.

Up 1-0, the Lady Leopards broke things open in the third inning.

An eight hit barrage, including seven straight singles, got the carousel going as LaGrange sent 12 batters to the plate. Perhaps most unfortunate for Lyford was that all of the damage came with two outs.

Dylan Supak’s two-out triple got it going and after Katelin Wolff reached on an error, the string of hard-hit singles began.

When the smoke cleared, six Leopards came home and pushed the lead to 7-0.

"They (LaGrange) got into a zone there and hit whatever we threw at them," Perez said of the frame. "They just pounded the ball."

The Lady Bulldogs just couldn’t recover. But that doesn’t mean they packed it in.

After totaling just one hit in Game 1, Lyford did manage three hits against the impressive Wolff. The LaGrange senior pitcher’s line included the three hits and 11 strikeouts on 96 tosses.

Freshman Maggie Vasquez legged out a single in the fourth inning for Lyford’s first hit. Marissa Chavez followed with a shot to left field for her single in the fifth and Katrina Zamorano slapped one in the sixth.

But hits were hard to come by in the series with Wolff in control.

Once again, she displayed an impressive repertoire of pitches, notably a great off speed pitch that worked in her favor.

LaGrange tacked on two more runs in the sixth to hammer it down but once again some defensive gems by Lyford prevented a run-rule from taking effect.

Nevertheless, Perez said Lyford’s second straight Sweet 16 trip won’t be forgotten any time soon.

"Getting back here for the second time…these girls set the foundation for years to come," he said. "All year long they had the bulls’ eye on their backs as the No. 1 or No. 2 team in the Valley.

Softball’s a big deal in Lyford. And that’s a tribute to the girls, their parents and the community."

Armando Garza covers high school softball for Valley Freedom Newspapers.