This was a story that Midland High softball fans had seen before.
The Lady Bulldogs got timely hits and Alex Aguilar threw a five-shutout to help MHS beat Odessa High 3-0 in Tuesday’s District 2-6A opener at Martin Field.
Aguilar, the 2021 District 2-6A MVP, was unhittable at times, registering 15 strikeouts and issuing no walks to lead the defending District 2-6A champion Lady Bulldogs (17-4 overall) to a 1-0 start in league play.
Aguilar began the game by striking out eight batters in the first three innings.
Despite her punchouts, the Lady Bronchos (5-5, 0-1) put pressure on her early, as Nivea Saenz tripled with two outs in the first inning, and Andrea Almance tripled with two outs in the second.
But both times Aguilar followed with a strikeout to lead them stranded.
In the third, OHS threatened Aguilar again, as Meghan Gattis was hit by a pitch and Diveli Cherry singled on a bunt with one out. Aguilar retired the next two Lady Broncho batters to get out of the jam.
Aguilar retired 11 of the next 13 batters she faced to end the game on a roll.
“I thought they did a great job of putting the bat on the ball,” Vines said of the Lady Broncho batters early on. “They were relentless on offense, just continuing to put it in play and trying to make things happen. I thought they did a good job offensively.”
Gattis did her best to match Aguilar in the circle, retiring the first seven Lady Bulldog batters she faced.
MHS finally reached base safely when Sadie Ryan singled with one out in the third.
Following a Jenn Casillas walk with two out, Yesenia Rodriguez singled to right field on a 1-2 count to break up Gattis’ shutout and plated Ryan to give the Lady Bulldogs a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third.
“Well, the runners were in scoring position, and I just thought that if I put the ball in play that they would have to mess up or make an error or make a play,” Rodriguez said. “I just trusted myself and trusted the girls behind me cheering and sure enough, it was a clutch hit and we got that run across.”
Added Vines: “We had a clutch hit that we needed that put us on the board. Once you get that run on the board, you kind of feel a lot better, especially in a close ballgame like this. Neither one of us had been able to put anybody across for (2 ½ innings). It was good for our kids to come through and have that inning right there.”
In the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Bulldogs added two more runs when Nalaney Paul lined a ball to right, which took a nasty hop and got past the OHS right fielder.
Paul rounded the bases for an inside-the-park home run that also scored Liliana Garza, who singled to lead off the inning.
“I scooted up in the box,” Paul said. “She threw me an outside pitch and I just went for it. I saw her miss and I just keep running and running.”
Garza went 2-for-3 with a run scored to lead MHS at the plate.
The Lady Bulldogs will host Abilene Cooper in a non-district game at 5 p.m. Friday.
Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chris_MRTsports
MIDLAND HIGH 3, ODESSA HIGH 0
OHS 000 000 0 — 0 5 0
MHS 001 200 x — 3 6 0
Meghan Gattis and Jazmin Lara. Alex Aguilar and Breigh Houser. W – Aguilar. L – Gattis. 3B – OHS: Nivea Saenz, Andrea Almance. HR – MHS: Nalaney Paul.
DISTRICT 2-6A SOFTBALL STANDINGS
District Overall
W L W L
Midland 1 0 17 4
Abilene 1 0 10 4
Frenship 1 0 10 6
Legacy 0 0 12 10
SA Central 0 1 10 5
Permian 0 1 14 7
Odessa 0 1 5 5
Tuesday’s scores
Midland High 3, Odessa High 0; Wolfforth Frenship 8, San Angelo Central 2; Abilene High 12, Odessa Permian 2; Legacy 14, Presidio 1 (non-district)
Friday’s games
Legacy at Abilene High; Odessa Permian at Wolfforth Frenship; San Angelo Central at Odessa High; all district games at 6:30 p.m.; Abilene Cooper at Midland High, 5 p.m. (non-district)