Brahmas crank up offense in district win
Averi Alderete and Miranda Lerma each had RBI triples and Kennedy Garner had an insidethe-park home run to lift the Macarthur Brahmas to an 11-5 win over the Highlands Owls in a District 27-5A softball game Tuesday at North East ISD Softball Complex.
Macarthur (13-10-1, 6-2) used a five-run fourth inning to pull away from Highlands (9-8, 6-2), with Alderete hitting a two-run triple in the inning and Garner coming through with her insidethe-park homer in the fifth to solidify the victory for the Brahmas.
The five-run fourth, with all five runs coming with two outs, helped the Brahmas take a 9-0 lead before Highlands rallied with four runs in the fifth to get within 9-4. Garner’s inside-thepark home run pulled the momentum back to Macarthur.
“We persevered, that would be the first thing we did,” Macarthur coach Mike Alfaro said. “We got a good early lead and that helped us. (Highlands) fought back, which we knew they would.
“They’ve got a good pitching staff, and they’ve got girls that are going to hit the ball. We made a couple of mistakes I thought we could have cleaned up. But in the end, we put the ball back in play and scored runs and matched them at the end, so it made it easy for us to finish it up.”
Macarthur outhit Highlands 10-8, with five of Macarthur’s hits coming in the pivotal fifth inning.
Garner scored in the first inning off a Highlands throwing error to give Macarthur a 1-0 lead. The Brahmas added two more runs in the second, the first on a triple by Lerma and the second on a bunt by Arianna Ruiz, driving in Lerma from third.
Macarthur added a run in the third inning to go up 4-0 as Hannah Melendez scored on a bunt from Alderete.
Garner started
Macarthur’s big fourth inning with a two-out double. After stealing third, Garner came home on an error. Melendez hit a bloop single. Alderete then hit a shot that fell in front of diving Highlands center fielder Jalyn Elias, scoring Garner and Melendez, with Alderete going into third for the triple.
Alderete scored on an error, and Jessie Salazar singled to drive in Kaylee Cantu to extend the Brahmas’ lead to 9-0, completing Macarthur’s five-run fourth.
Sofia Medina, the Owls starting pitcher, scored Highlands’ first run on a single by Elias in the fifth. Elias then came home on Alyna Oppelt’s double, and Andrea Gibbs and Peyton Ramirez had consecutive RBI singles to pull Highlands within 9-4.
In bottom of the fifth, Garner swung the momentum back to Macarthur with her home run. Later, Cantu tripled to left field to drive in Alderete, who had reached on an error.
Alfaro said he gave Garner the green light to come home on her inside-the-park homer.
“Once it got through (a Highlands fielder), I knew I was going to make her score no matter what or they’re going to throw her out at home,” Alfaro said. “Because when you got somebody (who runs) like she can, it makes it easier for me because I’m going to push them.”
Kaylin Salazar got the win on the mound for Macarthur, striking out seven while giving up eights hits and allowing three walks. Medina, who gave up 10 hits and four walks with six strikeouts, took the loss.
Even though Salazar gave up eight hits, Highlands couldn’t take advantage as the Owls stranded 10 base runners. In addition, Highlands committed five errors, with four of those setting up Macarthur runs.
Coming off spring break, Garner said she felt the Brahmas responded and played well.
“We did really well coming back from our last two games,” said Garner, who went 3-for-3 at the plate. “We talked and we communicated and we put the ball in play, which is what we need.”
With the win, the Brahmas pulled into a tie for second place with Highlands, with both teams trailing Alamo Heights in the district standings. Highlands resumes play Friday against Brackenridge at SAISD Sports Complex.
Macarthur’s next game is against Brackenridge on Tuesday at Blossom Athletic Center.