Aerie Hernandez powers PSJA High past Laredo Nixon at Border Olympics
LAREDO, Texas — The PSJA Lady Bears have lined up one of the toughest softball schedules across South Texas in 2023 with significant tests early on, including this weekend at the Border Olympics tournament in Laredo this, which featured 23 of the area's top teams.
The Lady Bears are 4-0 in the tournament and got off on the right foot from the opening game.
PSJA squeezed by Laredo Nixon 3-2 on Thursday at the Zachary Softball Complex behind the pitching of Aerie Hernandez. She picked up the victory in the circle after pitching two scoreless relief innings with three strikeouts while walking just one Laredo Nixon batter.
“We are learning from the last tournament to this tournament,” PSJA head coach Eric Maderos said. “We are trying to get the girls to understand what they are doing. They did well at the plate.”
Laredo Nixon struck first and after two scoreless innings found some momentum in the third inning. The Lady Mustangs got things rolling on a double by Ailyeeh Gualajara and she went on to score on a double by Jimena Ibarra to make it a 1-0 ball game. Ibarra also crossed the plate as Laredo Nixon took a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the third inning.
“Our girls are playing really, really hard,” Laredo Nixon head coach Francisco Quiroz said. “We are getting to where we need to be for next Tuesday’s game which is our district opener. The breaks have not gone our way but the girls are fighting.”
It did not take long for PSJA to flex its offensive power at the plate, as the Lady Bears strung together some hits to get on the scoreboard in the late innings. While Laredo Nixon’s bats started to cool off, PSJA’s bats started to make contact with the ball as the Lady Bears came from behind to add three late runs.
Azul Rios started the rally during the fourth inning on a Laredo Nixon error to reach first base for PSJA with two outs. Rios crossed the plate to cut the Lady Mustangs' lead in half, as Laredo Nixon held a 2-1 edge heading into the fifth inning.
That's when PSJA put together its best inning, as Amerie Vega ripped a single to open the fifth inning for the Lady Bears. She landed on third base on a Laredo Nixon error and went on to score to knot up the game at 2-2.
The go-ahead run for the Lady Bears came home when Julianna Guajardo scored on a sacrifice fly to left field, as PSJA took a 3-2 lead and flipped a one-run deficit into a one-run edge during the biggest inning of the day for either side.
The Lady Bears held their own at the plate ,but it was a solid defense that also did not give Laredo Nixon any breathing room as the Lady Mustangs had to earn both of their runs.
“We have been very well defensively the last couple of weeks,” Madero said. “That is what we do, we play a lot of defense and pitching. We have been doing well and we have a lot of young girls out there. They are learning and playing.”
PSJA High (8-3) will wrap up play at the Border Olympics with a doubleheader against the Zapata Hawks (4-3) at 9 a.m. and the Laredo United Longhorns (7-1) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, in Laredo.
Laredo Nixon (3-6-1) will complete its Border Olympic slate with a doubleheader too, beginning against the Del Rio Rams (3-2) at 9 a.m. and concluding against the Edinburg North Cougars (5-5-1) at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Laredo.
Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the game:
PHOTO GALLERY — PSJA HIGH 3, LAREDO NIXON 2
All photos by Clara Sandoval
