(Harlingen, Texas)-It took seven innings for the Harlingen South Lady Hawks to finally get things going as they exploded for four runs to beat Corpus Christi Carroll 5-4 on Saturday in the University Interscholastic League 5A Region IV Quarterfinals. “This was a great game and I’m so proud of our team’s comeback,” said Hawks Lady head coach, Joe Rios. The Lady Hawks wraps up the Best of Three series by defeating the Lady Tigers 8-3, 1-6, 5-4.
The 32-5A Champions, Lady Hawks (31-3) will now play 25-5A third-place Leander Lady Lions (34-5) this weekend at Corpus Christi Cabaniss Field in the Best of Three series beginning on Thursday night. The Lady Lions have swept its way into the UIL State 5A Region IV Semifinals with wins over SA Veterans Memorial (4-1, 4-1 ), Medina Valley (9-2, 18-7), and Buda Hays (3-1, 3-1). The Lady Hawks swept their first two opponents, Edinburg Vela (10-0, 11-3) and Victoria East (6-3, 10-0) before knocking off Corpus Christi Carroll in three games.
The Lady Hawks finished District 32-5A with a perfect 18-0 record and to date, the Lady Hawks have scored 354 runs while allowing just 45 runs scored. The Lady Lions finished 25-5A tied for third place with two other teams at 9-5. For the season, Leander has outscored their opponents 339-156 runs. More than likely, the Lady Lions will go with sophomore Kylee Arnold (22-5) with 110 strikeouts. She has allowed 118 scored with 166 hits when she is on the mound. The Lady Hawks will put Lexi Sandoval (17-0) on the mound with 152 strikeouts for the year and she allowed only 41 hits this season with 16 runs scored. On paper, this will be Leander’s toughest opponent that they will face this season.
The winner will meet 25-5A Liberty Hill (26-7) or 29-5A Corpus Christi Veterans (27-9) in the UIL State Quarterfinals next week with the winner advancing to the UIL State Softball Tournament.
Sweet 16, Here We Come! The Harlingen South Lady Hawks will meet the Leander Lady Lions in the Best-of-Three series in the Class 5A Region IV Semifinals. (HSSMImages/DeLeon)