EC rides Strunk no-hitter to share of first title in nearly a decade, while Southwest slams Steele for fourth in row

By Mike Considine

For a team that hadn’t won a district title in possibly a decade, East Central surely did it in style.

From sophomore pitcher Madison Strunk’s first career no-hitter to the postgame Gatorade shower with a Silly String topping, the Hornets (20-10, 8-2) put their stamp on the occasion. Undoubtedly, there was plenty for the team to celebrate.

“That was more than a senior game,” Hornets senior left fielder Stacia Lamey said, referring to the pregame Senior Night ceremony. “This was everybody going for a district championship. We started strong and we wanted to finish strong.”

East Central’s 5-0 victory over Corpus Christi King (21-11, 5-5) Tuesday on its home field enabled the Hornets to clinch a first-place tie with Southwest (29-5, 8-2) on the final day of the District 28-5A season. The Dragons also held on to their share to first for a fourth-consecutive championship, blasting Steele (17-12, 5-5) 11-2 at Southwest.

“I’m not sure,” fourth-year East Central coach Bryan Waller said, referring to the Hornets’ previous district title, “but I would say it’s a good 8-10 years.”

Southwest is No. 4 in the Express-News area rankings. East Central is No. 9.

For East Central, claiming a share of the 28-5A title was the culmination of a four-year progression for the Hornets’ seniors. Five years ago, when they were in eighth grade, East Central didn’t win a district game. Now they’re in the playoffs for the third-straight season.

The Hornets will be the district’s No. 1 seed ahead of Southwest because they defeated the Dragons in both head-to-head meetings this year.

“My main joy is to see the development that each class of seniors has been able to produce,” Waller said. “This year’s seniors have developed and became leaders, just like last year’s seniors did and the seniors did when they were sophomores.

“Each successive class has striven to get better, to make us district champs. It’s gone step by step.”

Strunk picked up where she left off last Friday at South San. The sophomore allowed just one hit in that outing.

The Mustangs had seven baserunners and three moved into scoring position as a result of two of the Hornets’ three errors. Strunk walked two and struck out three.

“I’ve had a lot of shutouts, but this is my first no-hitter,” she said. “I could have had a no-hitter last game against South San. But I focus on my pitches, rather than how many hits they have. I let my defense work, rather than trying for strikeouts.”

Strunk retired 10 Mustangs batters in a row, beginning with the Hornets’ double play that ended the third inning. Sophomore third baseman Haydi Bugarin speared a grounder, threw home for catcher Hailey Miller to force out a potential run and Miller sent her throw to first baseman Taylor Doege in time to beat the batter.

The streak continued until Dominique Salinas was safe on an error, trying to bunt her way on to lead off the seventh.

“I go at it pitch-by-pitch,” Strunk explained. “I don’t think too far ahead. If you win every inning, you’re going to win the game.”

Strunk induced a line out to second base that froze Salinas at first, and East Central finished off King with their second double play of the game from shortstop Alexis Macias to second baseman Hailey Reynolds to Doege.

Doege pitched a no-hitter against Reagan in a 16-0 win Feb. 26.

“This is Madison’s first no-hitter, but she was close to a perfect game against South San,” Waller said. “Now her and Taylor have both pitched no-hitters this year.”

East Central, which won its sixth-consecutive game, didn’t break the ice until the third inning. With the Hornets and Mustangs locked in a scoreless tie, there was some anxiousness among the Hornets’ ranks until senior leadoff hitter Kirsten Wiatrek drew a walk, stole second and scored on Bugarin’s double.

“It was very close,” said Lamey, who finished 3-for-3 at the plate with 3 RBIs. “We were just waiting for somebody to score. It was a lot more nerve-wracking that way.”

Bugarin (1-for-2, RBI) took third on the throw to the plate and came in on a passed ball for a 2-0 lead.

“We started out playing strong defense,” Waller said. “We were a little slow in getting runs, but then we had that big rally in the third. That took a little bit of pressure off Madison, and we continued to play strong defense behind her.”

Doege and Strunk re-stocked the bases for East Central with consecutive singles. Each advanced on Macias’ sacrifice bunt. That brought up Lamey, who lifted a two-run single to right field that gave Strunk a more than ample four-run cushion to work with.

“Scoring those runs just hyped us up,” Strunk said, “but we knew, just because we had the lead, (King) wasn’t going to give up. We had to keep it going.”

Maintaining and expanding leads is a topic that has been addressed during East Central’s pep talks.

“When we got ahead 3-0, we’d starting shutting down,” Lamey said. “That’s been our main focus this year, to keep coming at (opponents). That had always been our problem in the past.”

Lamey, who doubled in the second inning, also had a hand in the Hornets’ next run. Reynolds drove a long double into the left-center field gap with one out in the fifth. The senior followed, right on cue, with a base hit to center that increased the Hornets’ lead to 5-0.

The Hornets’ fifth run didn’t merely guarantee that the East Central coach soon would be covered in Gatorade and Silly String. It, fittingly, enabled Waller to sub in seniors Laura Borrego, Courtney Strzelczyk and Michaela Valdez for pinch-hit at-bats in the sixth inning.

“This senior class is a very fun one to be around,” Waller said. “They’re friends on and off the field. I know they’ll stay in touch after graduation.”

The closest King came to a hit was a deep line drive with one out in the sixth inning. Lamey was in position to snare the shot in the webbing of her glove, preventing an extra-base hit.

“We’ve had a lot of pep talks this year,” Lamey said. “Coach Waller told us a few games ago that we had to win every game (to finish first), and now we’ve done that. When you have a pitcher like Madison, it gives you a lot of confidence.”

The Hornets will face Warren (15-11-2), which finished fourth in District 27-5A, in the bi-district round. Details will be decided later.

“It was big, because of Senior Night and because we were playing for the district title,” Strunk said. “We were playing not just for the seniors, but to (gain momentum) to go on into the playoffs.”

Southwest

The Dragons wasted no time in establishing their dominance against Steele. They struck for three runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Southwest had an even bigger knockout punch waiting. The Dragons erupted for eight runs in the fourth to squelch the Knights’ hopes for an upset that would have assured them the No. 3 seed in 28-5A. Steele tied King for third.

Steele scored both of its runs in the fifth, with help from a home run by Nala Quevido. Southwest junior pitcher Kamarie Vidales limited the Knights to four hits. The Dragons amassed nine.

Southwest will draw either Brandeis (20-6) or Holmes (19-9) in the bi-district round. The 27-5A teams are currently tied for third place.