SOFTBALL: Holy Cross holds on to surpass area round

Knights set up rematch Monday with Victoria St. Joseph

Knights senior pitcher Julia Ibarra beats the throw and arrives safely at second base. — Knights senior pitcher Julia Ibarra held Houston Lutheran South to five hits.

Holy Cross’ area-round win at Houston Lutheran South wasn’t a thing of beauty, but it accomplished the mission.

The Knights (15-11) advanced to the state quarterfinals for the second-consecutive season with a victory over the Pioneers Saturday. Holy Cross scored four runs in the first four innings to win the TAPPS Class 4A playoff game.

“We put the ball in play,” Holy Cross coach Angel Cedillo said, referring to his team’s 13-hit attack. “We just didn’t capitalize enough. But the girls played well enough. They defended very well. We did what we had to do to get through to College Station.”

Holy Cross broke the ice in the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead. The Knights scored two runs in the third and another in the fourth.

Juniors Kennedy Rivera and Marisol Ortega led Holy Cross’ offense.

“We had timely hitting,” Cedillo said. “Kennedy had a couple of doubles. She hit the ball really well. Marisol got on base a couple of times and scored two of our runs. I think Kennedy and Marisol were the standouts, offensively.”

Trailing 4-0, Lutheran South scored its first run in the bottom of the fourth. The Pioneers scored two more runs in the fifth before Holy Cross senior pitcher Julia Ibarra shut them down again.

Ibarra limited Lutheran South to five hits.

“I was really proud of their poise,” Cedillo said. “They showed a lot of moxie.”

Holy Cross is tentatively scheduled to play district rival Victoria St. Joseph (18-12) 4 p.m. Monday at Texas A&M University. St. Joseph is the TAPPS 3-4A champion. The Knights finished third.

In their regular-season meeting, the Flyers prevailed 4-3 March 29 at Holy Cross.

“They’ve been the team to beat for a few years,” Cedillo said. “They have good pitching, they play good defense and they put the ball in play. We’ve been close to them a few times, but we’re excited for the opportunity to play them on a neutral site.”

The winner will play the Corpus Christi Incarnate Word-Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian winner in the semifinals.