Their time?

PHARR -- It's not a perfect world - everyone doesn't get a second chance. PSJA North, however, has a third.

The three-time district champions have fallen in the regional quarterfinals the past two seasons. Now they have an opportunity to qualify for the regional semis for the second time in school history against the team that sent them home two years ago - San Benito.

The teams meet in the Class 5A playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Friday in San Benito.

"This is the year that we're going to do it," catcher Yesenia Torres said. "We should do it. This is our year. We've accomplished a lot more than we have in the past couple of years, so this year I'm hoping we can come through."

It seems the stars may be aligned for the Lady Raiders, who've certainly paid their postseason dues.

North's first championship season ended with a series sweep by the Lady Greyhounds, who capitalized on the Lady Raiders' shakiness early in Game 2 for a 5-2 win. Last season, North returned to the third round only to give up three unearned runs on five errors in a 3-1 loss to Laredo Nixon.

"It was hard to get over, and that just made us stronger for this year," third baseman Amanda Garces said.

The Lady Raiders (31-6) proved that by becoming the first Rio Grande Valley team in 10 years to win the Mission Fastpitch Festival back in February. They added a tourney title in La Joya and went on to clinch their third straight 31-5A crown and a school-record 31 wins.

Fifth-year North coach Johnny Medrano attributes most of that to being relatively healthy all season. And he doesn't believe his team's previous third-round performances represent a pattern of the pressure getting to them.

"We're not going to be cursed," Medrano said. "I was talking to the girls yesterday about this and I said, ‘You know, the Buffalo Bills went to the Super Bowl so many times and never got past that hump,' but I've told them we're just not going to allow ourselves to do that.

"We're not."

The basis for that confidence is his belief that it wasn't so much the mental mistakes that cost them as a lack of hitting, and that's something Torres can help with. The senior missed the regional quarters last season with a shoulder injury suffered in the previous round.

"It was horrible," Torres said. "I was upset. I wanted to play. I wanted to go help my team but I couldn't. It was bad for me."

Having Torres in the lineup this time is a good thing for North, but it doesn't guarantee her a chance to swing the bat. In 2006, San Benito intentionally walked her six times in the two-game series. Torres doesn't think they'll do that this time, but Medrano does.

Either way, they'll both be happy.

"That's what we're thinking, that they're going to do that," Medrano said. "And if they do that, that's great."

Even if Torres does see a pitch, it won't be easy to hit coming from San Benito ace JoAnn Herrera. But if it's a low-scoring affair the Lady Greyhounds want, Roxanne Rodriguez is ready. The junior threw more than 300 pitches in the span of 27 hours last week - and only got stronger as she went.

"I just tell myself that I can do it and I just try and always think positive, never negative, about not pitching or I'm tired," Rodriguez said. "It's all mental.

"If we really want it I think we can do it."

Jason McDaniel covers high school softball for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442.