Quintero’s homer caps marathon victory

After having her big bat taken out of her hands earlier in extra innings, Harlan’s Prisais Quintero made sure her sixth at-bat was her last.

With one out and a runner on first, the senior shortstop hit a deep drive over the left-field wall for a two-run home run, bringing in the game’s only runs in the top of the 13th inning to lift the Hawks over Brennan 2-0 in a marathon District 29-6A showdown Saturday morning at Northside Softball Field.

“I was thinking about how they walked me intentionally (in the 11th inning). I had that in the back of my mind,” Quintero said. “I wanted to do it for my team. My pitchers worked hard. My defense was getting every ground ball. We were getting a lot of hits, but they were going straight to (Brennan). I wanted to pull through for my team.”

Brennan’s defense looked stout early on, with six straight 1-2-3 innings to start the game. The Bears (16-4, 8-1) were led by pitcher Bryannah Campos, who was on the mound the entire 13 innings, finishing with 12 strikeouts. The Hawks (16-4, 8-1) made a pitching change in the middle of the fifth inning, bringing in Aubrey Flores, who struck out 15.

“I think everybody was a little shocked that she wasn’t going to be on the mound today,” Harlan coach Alex Rodriguez said. “But as coaches, we envisioned the game going kind of how it did today, and Aubrey knew her job. She knew that when she was going to get called for, she was going to come in and try to finish the game.”

Following its early struggles against Campos, Harlan notched its first hit of the game in the ninth inning when outfielder

Analisa Gomez singled into center field. But the Hawks were unable to capitalize, with the Bears getting three straight outs to end the inning.

Harlan continued making contact in the 10th when third baseman Sarah Almazan hit a single into center field. The Hawks seemed to have something going in the inning when second baseman Alana Gutierrez followed with a double into left field. But Almazan was tagged out at third on the play, and the next batter, Lilly Campos, grounded out to short to again extend the game.

After two more empty innings, it was time for Quintero’s two-run homer to send the Bears home.

“Prisais has done that all district play for us,” Rodriguez said. “That kid has single-handedly put the team on her back when it comes to our offense. I knew we were going to win this game, and it was because she came up with a huge hit.”

Despite playing the long game, Harlan remained hungry for revenge.

The two teams played in the season opener, with Brennan winning 4-0. The Bears also entered Saturday’s game undefeated in 29-6A play and on a sixgame winning streak.

With the second round of district play beginning, Quintero wanted to make a statement, and in addition to toppling the district’s top team, her blast extended the Hawks’ winning streak to nine games.

“The first game definitely (gave us) a chip on our shoulder,” she said. “We’ve been working hard at practice, so it definitely motivated us to want to get it more.”

Harlan will next face O’Connor at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Northside Softball Field No. 1. Brennan will try to rebound against Taft at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Northside Softball Field No. 2.