THIS STORY CONTAINS INFO ABOUT: Edison, Southwest, Holy Cross, Brackenridge, Jefferson and McCollum (in order)

FOR A FULL STORY ON SOUTHSIDE VS. HARLANDALE softball (April 19, 2013 @ Frank Tejeda Complex), click here:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Harlandale-softball-team-shoots-past-Southside-4453963.php

FOR INFO ABOUT: East Central and the playoff situation, click here:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/High-School-sports-round-up-4453971.php

By Mike Considine

Edison

In District 28-4A, Edison (14-15-2, 10-2) won an outright title Friday with a 14-4 victory over Jefferson (13-15, 7-5), after clinching a share of first place with an emotional victory over Brennan Tuesday.

The Golden Bears had built a 5-0 lead by the bottom of the third inning Friday, when the Mustangs scored their first run. Jefferson clawed back within 5-3 in the fourth. However, Edison wasn’t willing to settle for just a share of first place.

Edison assured itself of the outright championship with four runs in the fifth inning and five in the seventh. The Golden Bears had won four-consecutive games and eight in a row in the district.

“(The girls) worked really hard every day,” Edison coach Aimee Silva said.

The 11-10 win over Brennan (15-11, 9-3) April 14 was special for two reasons. Not only did it give the Golden Bears a chance to snare their fourth-consecutive district title, it was achieved on a night set aside for raising awareness of breast cancer, the disease that claimed former Edison coach Mary Ann Villarreal in 2010.

It was the known as the first annual Pitch For the Cure game.

“We had been struggling at the bottom of the lineup,” Silva said. “It ended up that our No. 9 hitter came through that inning. When we got to the top of the lineup, I knew we’d score some runs.”

Edison’s Celeste Vela was the winning pitcher in a game of momentum swings. The Golden Bears rode their first-place showdown adrenaline to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. They added two more runs in the second to counter a run from Brennan, which was concluding its district schedule.

The Bears pulled away to lead 10-6 lead by their half of the sixth. Edison closed to 10-8 in the bottom of the inning.

With bases loaded and none out in the seventh, No. 9 hitter Mari Quinones hit into a force play. Brennan got the lead runner out at the plate, but an errant return throw to third base put Edison within 10-8. Brittany Salinas scored on the play.

With Quinones at second base and April Escobedo at third, Vela smacked a two-run single that gave Edison the walkoff win as well as made herself the winning pitcher.

Southwest

The Dragons (29-5, 8-2) held on to their share of first April 16 to win a fourth-consecutive championship, blasting Steele (17-12, 5-5) 11-2 at Southwest.

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

The Dragons had an even bigger knockout punch waiting. They 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.

Holy Cross

The Knights (21-13-2) lost 5-1 to Victoria St. Joseph (20-8) in the championship game of the TAPPS District 3-4A Tournament last Saturday after trouncing Austin St. Dominic Savio 12-2 April 16 in the semifinals.

In the title game in Victoria, Holy Cross scored first, in top of fourth, as Knights pitcher Julia Ibarra kept the home team in check. However, St. Joseph answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. St. Joseph added two more in the fifth on a base hit from Christine Janak.

The Flyers finished with 11 hits. The Knights had six hits off winning pitcher Amanda Sohrt.

In the semifinals, the Knights broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning. A three-run rally in the sixth increased their lead to 12-0. St. Dominic Savio scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the 10-run rule.

Holy Cross produced 15 hits. St. Dominic Savio had three.

Brackenridge/Jefferson

Brackenridge (14-15-1, 8-4) nudged Jefferson out of third place with a 14-5 win over Highlands (8-20, 3-9) last Friday at Villarreal Field No. 3, while Edison defeated the Mustangs on Field No. 1.

Jefferson’s loss, coupled with Brackenridge’s win, settled the district’s playoff situation. Brackenridge finished third and the Mustangs took fourth.

The Eagles, who defeated Jefferson a week earlier, scored once in the first inning and four times in the fourth. The Owls then battled back with four runs in the fifth and a tying run in the sixth. Brackenridge broke the 5-5 tie with an alarming nine runs in the top of the seventh. The Eagles finished with 14 hits. Highlands had seven.

Jefferson had a chance to pull even with Brackenridge in the standings after blasting Burbank (7-17, 4-8) 17-5 April 16,.while the Eagles won 11-0 against Lanier (5-20, 1-11). Mary Loera was the winning pitcher for the Mustangs, who scored four runs in the second, six in the sixth and seven in the seventh.

The Bulldogs had taken a 6-4 lead with five runs in the fourth inning. Both teams finished with 11 hits.

Brackenridge sophomore Alexis Berlanga pitched a combined one-hitter against Lanier. Berlanga struck out four in 4 2/3 innings.

Miranda Sandoval led the Eagles, going 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Berlanga also hit a home run. Ashley Falcon drove in two runs. Allie Castillo, Celeste Canales and Kristen Reyna all drove in runs.

McCollum

The fifth-place Cowboys fell behind 6-0 by the middle of the third inning in their loss to Medina Valley April 16.

After scoring a run in the third, McCollum couldn’t push any runs across until the bottom of the seventh against the district champions at the Tejeda Complex. Trailing 11-1, the Cowboys produced four runs. The Panthers had a 15-hit attack. McCollum also had a solid night at the plate with five hits.

Last Friday at Tiger Field it was a different story. The Cowboys took control with seven runs in the second inning and three more in the third. Winning pitcher Amber Saucedo limited the Rockets to five hits. McCollum had 10 hits.