San Benito finds a little magic

SAN BENITO - How ‘sweet' this one was!
And it was simply magical.
After a tense game throughout, San Benito's Adrienne "Itchy" Sauceda hit a walk-off fielder's choice to score Tanya Parra and send the Lady 'Hounds back to the Sweet 16 with a 3-2 win over PSJA North in their Class 5A regional quarterfinal game at Lady 'Hound Field Friday night.
San Benito (27-6) takes the one-game series and will now face either San Antonio O'Connor or Austin Bowie in next week's regional semifinals. PSJA North's season ends at 31-7.
"Our girls have showed so much heart throughout the season. They've come together as a team and there's no better time for them to be peaking," San Benito coach Elias Martinez said. "PSJA North is awesome, they were the number one team in the Valley and it was well-deserved. We never took an inning off tonight. We couldn't. Even when they scored the runs on us, our mental toughness came through once again. We didn't crack."
Sauceda's hit was the fourth final at-bat win for San Benito dating back to the regular season finale against Hanna.
"Me and the pitcher (Roxanne Rodriguez) are really good friends, we've been playing together for a long time," she said. "I've had trouble hitting off of her my whole softball career. But this time, I came up and it was for my team. Anything for my team, I try to do."
It was an overflow crowd at Lady 'Hound Field that was standing room only. In fact, so many fans were in attendance, some were relegated to sit at adjacent Bobby Morrow Stadium to watch the action.
And what action they saw throughout the contest.
San Benito struck first with a two spot in the first inning thanks to a two-run single by Amanda Garza that scored Sadie Sanchez and Sauceda.
All the while, JoAnn Herrera was cruising. For the evening, the sophomore scattered five hits, walking one and striking out four on 95 pitches.
But North didn't go down without a fight.
Robin Martinez cut the lead in half in the third when she scored on a sacrifice bunt by Roxanne Rodriguez. Then in the fifth, Amanda Garces' single scored Amanda Pecina to tie the game.
The momentum had shifted to the Lady Raiders, as Rodriguez got into a groove in center circle. The all-everything pitcher's line finished with five hits allowed, four walks and eight Ks on 107 tosses.
The game stayed a deadlock until the bottom of the seventh thanks to some phenomenal defense on both sides.
Garza was magnificent for San Benito at short, registering two great putouts to help starter Herrera keep North at bay.
She wasn't alone.
Senior Blanche Treviño got into the act as did third baseman Parra and Jaynee Morales in left.
North was also stout defensively, highlighted by catcher Yesenia Torres' snagging of a popup against the netting.
Both teams had chances to take the lead before the seventh, but the great defense made it extremely difficult, leaving the game tied at 2.
But difficult games have been San Benito's forte this postseason. They beat Harlingen 1-0 in bi-district before squeaking by Eagle Pass last week in area.

Meanwhile, Tanya Parra singled with one away in the seventh, and Blanche Trevino walked to put two on. Both advanced on a wild pitch to set up Sauceda's game-winner.
Bottom line, the Lady 'Hounds are back in the regional semifinals.
"This is the second time in school history that we're in the Sweet 16," Sauceda said. "I was in it my sophomore year and I'm just glad to be a part of it again."