Garcia, West top Alejandro, East in softball showcase
LA JOYA — Edinburg North’s Clare Garcia and Harlingen South’s Chelsie Alejandro are no strangers to being adversaries and teammates.
On Saturday, they represented different sides of the Rio Grande Valley at the 6th Annual East-West All-Star Game. By the end of the game, they were standing alongside each other holding their team’s respective MVP trophies after the West held on to defeat the East, 8-6, in an eight-inning game at La Joya High School.
Representing the West, Garcia was named MVP after a superb fielding night. She entered in the top of the fifth and played shortstop the rest of the way. Alejandro, who was named District 31-5A’s MVP during the regular season, pitched three innings, struck out five and yielded just one run.
Garcia and Alejandro posed together for pictures after the game. They are teammates with a select team, RGV Heat, and had played in two tournaments together prior to Saturday’s game. Saturday marked the final time they’ll face each other. They’ll be teammates from now on.
“It was an honor first of all,” Garcia said of playing in the all-star game. “I’ve played against a lot of those girls for awhile, and it was an honor to play against Chelsie.”
Alejandro was disappointed that her team closed a seven-run deficit to 8-6 following a four-run seventh inning. Alejandro took some solace after she struck out the side in the top of the eighth inning to give her team a chance to win it.
“I’ll remember that because all of those girls are known for their sticks,” Alejandro said.
Sharyland’s Dru Mamolejo went 3 for 4 with a walk and three runs scored for the West. She also pitched the final three innings.
The West built a big lead thanks by scoring four in the first inning, one in the second and two in the fourth. McAllen Memorial’s Lauren Castro provided a two-run single in the first inning to start the scoring. The West scored two more run in the first on an error. The West scored two runs on another error in the fourth inning that made the score 7-0.
The East trailed 8-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning before coming back with four runs on five hits. San Benito’s Amanda Garza had a RBI single in that inning and later scored. The East also scored on a double steal, a fielder’s choice and a balk.
“We came through in the end with our defense,” said West coach Paul Cruz of Sharyland. “It got a little rough there in the middle. We were able to hit the ball early and that gave us some confidence.”
The West improved to 4-2 in the overall series. Garcia is the third Edinburg North athlete to win MVP honors following Iliana Hinojosa (2010) and Lauren Gaza (2006). Alejandro is the first Lady Hawk to win MVP honors for the game.
David Hinojosa covers high school sports for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email at dhinojosa@themonitor.com.
