After falling against Midland High to open District 2-6A play, the Odessa High softball team knew it needed a strong showing against San Angelo Central.
The Lady Bronchos got what they were looking for, defeating the Lady Cats 16-6 in six innings Saturday at the Ratliff Softball Complex.
“I was really happy with the way we started,” Odessa High coach Rachel Pena said. “It was a good, quick start and we needed that.”
Nivea Saenz had a strong showing for Odessa High, hitting three home runs and finishing with seven RBIs.
Two of those were three-run homers, which helped the Lady Bronchos quickly get the offense on track.
After holding San Angelo Central’s top three batters off with three consecutive fly outs, Odessa High jump ahead when Saenz sent a deep shot over the center field fence to bring in Meghan Gattis and Diveli Cherry in the bottom of the first inning.
An RBI single from Alyssa Rodriguez helped the Lady Cats cut the deficit to two runs in the top of the second, but the Lady Bronchos quickly responded in the bottom of the frame with another three-run homer from Saenz.
“It felt good helping my team out, keeping the momentum going and starting everything,” Saenz said of her early success at bat.
Jazmin Lara quickly followed Saenz with a solo homer and an RBI single from Andrea Almance gave Odessa High a seven-run advantage by the end of the second inning.
After adding three more runs in the fourth, the Lady Bronchos had to hold off a rally from San Angelo Central in the top of the fifth.
The Lady Cats recorded four hits in the frame, with RBI singles from Taylor Martin, Kylie Banda and Rodriguez helping San Angelo Central reach home plate four times.
Pena believes her players lost focus and started struggling because they were looking ahead to the run rule.
“I think we were focused on the wrong thing, we’ve got to stay focused on playing, making outs and doing the little things,” Pena said.
Odessa High was able to regroup and recover late, holding up defensively to allow one run in the top of the sixth.
The Lady Bronchos scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, with a two-run home run from Cherry sealing the victory.
Gattis pitched all six innings for Odessa High, recording eight strikeouts while allowing seven hits and walking three.
Rodriguez led San Angelo Central with three RBIs, combining with Alli Talamantes to strike out eight batters.
Odessa High (6-5-1 overall, 1-1 district) continued its strong defensive showing from its district opener where it allowed Midland High just three runs.
Saenz said she will look to keep the positive momentum flowing within her team to avoid slumps through the rest of the season.
She wants to see the Lady Bronchos recover quickly from errors, something that helped San Angelo Central start its comeback.
“As soon as we started making errors, it just kept adding on and adding on,” Saenz said.
San Angelo Central (10-6-1, 0-2) suffered its second straight loss after dropping its district opener against Wolfforth Frenship 8-2 Tuesday.
The Lady Bronchos face crosstown rival Permian at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Ratliff Softball Complex.
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