Second-place Cowboys pound Harlandale
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McCollum is in the midst of its most successful season in at least five years, but the Cowboys are not taking anything for granted in District 29-4A.
Although the Cowboys (13-4, 8-1) appear to be relatively secure in second place — just one game behind district leading Medina Valley — McCollum also is just two-game ahead of the other two prospective qualifiers after defeating rival Harlandale (9-12-1, 3-6) 12-1 Friday at the Frank Tejeda Complex. The margin for error is slim, so McCollum is trying to take care of business game by game.
“We don’t worry about anybody else,” McCollum coach Larissa Cover said. “We worry about our picture, what we can control.”
Since losing to Medina Valley two weeks ago, McCollum has outscored opponents by a 40-1 count in its last four games. The Cowboys hadn’t allowed a run since March 13, a span of 18 innings, until Harlandale’s Chasity Anguiano hit a home run in the fourth inning.
McCollum had an 8-1 lead at that stage. The Cowboys added four more runs in the bottom of the inning with a rally that started from a Brianna Kinnard double. Junior pitcher Kim Abundis and senior Amanda Huron also delivered doubles in the inning.
“I think timely hits are very important this year,” Cover said. “I’m very happy with them for their timely hitting (tonight).”
Abundis retired the first nine Harlandale batters in order, heading into the fourth. In her third year as a starter, the junior has been more consistent and had better command of her pitches, as a result of her offseason work.
“I practiced a lot,” Abundis said. “I practiced daily, during weekends, all the time. It just made me more confident in my pitches.”
The Cowboys fashioned a five-run rally in the second out of three walks and a Harlandale error.
“It was very big, because it’s our rival,” McCollum junior pitcher Kim Abundis said. “We wanted to beat them.”
A bases-loaded walk to Lauryn Martinez brought in their first run. The second scored on Savannah Borjas’ sacrifice fly. Huron and Ericka Martinez produced RBI singles and the error let in another run.
Three walks and base hits from Huron, Valerie Lopez and Ericka Martinez added up to three runs in the third.
“We’ve gone through some difficult things this season as a team,” Cover said. “We’ve stressed grouping together as a team to get through those struggles. I think we’re doing that, little by little.
“We’ve talked about how every practice matters, every game matters and every (repetition) matters. They have been doing this.”
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