Lady Tigers top Hermleigh, 16-5

By Ben Barkley
SDN Managing Editor

The Snyder Lady Tigers like the feeling of winning and want it to carry over to the District 5-4A season.
Less than 15 hours after recording a walk-off win against Fort Stockton, the Lady Tigers collected 15 hits in defeating Hermleigh, 16-5, at the Snyder Softball Invitational Saturday afternoon.
“This shows that we like to win,” head coach Jan Kruse said of the tournament. “We have been working on our hitting and it has shown. We are getting more aggressive at the plate.”
After holding Hermleigh scoreless in the top of the first inning, the Lady Tigers sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning and scored eight runs on nine hits.
Zowie Rodriguez, who had the walk-off double against Fort Stockton Friday night, hit an RBI-single to open the scoring on Saturday. Natalee James added an RBI single and Gigi Gutierrez had a sacrifice fly, which was the first out of the inning, that gave Snyder a 3-0 lead. Melyni Garcia hit an RBI-double and A.J. Juarez reached on an error that allowed James to score. Ciara Galvan, during her second at-bat of the inning, hit an RBI single and Rodriguez added an RBI-double that scored Galvan with the eighth run of the inning.
“We have been working on building up for district,” Kruse said. “We are now doing the things we are supposed to be doing.”
Hermleigh sent nine batters to the plate in the top of the second inning to cut the lead to 8-5. 
Brittany Smith and Hailey Murphy each collected one RBI when they were walked with the bases loaded. Lillyan Digby followed with a 3-run double for the Lady Cardinals.
In the bottom of the inning, James struck out but reached first base on a passed ball. She later scored on Melyni Garcia’s single. Snyder added three runs in the third on a Rodriguez groundout and two Hermleigh errors. 
In the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Tigers scored four runs on four hits and two errors. The game ended after the top of the fifth inning on the 10-run rule.
Garcia had three of Snyder’s 15 hits with two RBIs while Rodriguez had two hits with four RBIs. Maeghan Medrano, who pitched the first two innings, picked up the win.
Digby had two of Hermleigh’s four hits and three RBIs. Morgan Karianen pitched a complete game in taking the loss.
Hermleigh hitters: Lillyan Digby 1 single, 1 double, 3 RBIs; Ciera Digby 1 single; Lynzie Stewart 1 single; Hailey Murphy 1 RBI; Brittany Smith 1 RBI.
Hermleigh pitcher: Morgan Karianen 4 innings, 16 runs, 7 earned runs, 15 hits, 1 strikeout, 1 walk.
Snyder hitters: Melyni Garcia 2 singles, 1 double, 2 RBIs; Zowie Rodriguez 1 single, 1 double, 4 RBIs, 1 stolen base; Abby Benitez 2 singles; Morgan Grant 1 single, 1 triple, 2 RBIs; Natalee James 2 singles, 2 RBIs, 2 stolen bases; A.J. Juarez 1 single; 1 RBI; Maeghan Medrano 1 single, 1 RBI; Alyssa Hurt 1 single; Ciara Galvan 1 single, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base; Gigi Gutierrez 1 RBI.
Snyder pitchers: Maeghan Medrano 2 innings, 5 runs, 5 earned runs, 3 hits, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks; Alyssa Hurt 3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 strikeout, 1 walk.
Stamford 3, Snyder 0
The Lady Tigers were limited to six hits in a 3-0 loss to Stamford in the tournament’s finale.
The game was scoreless until Stamford scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Rodriguez finished with three hits while James added two hits and Galvan had one hit. 
Hurt took the loss, allowing three unearned runs on 22 hits with four strikeouts and one walk. 
Albany 9, Snyder JV 2
Albany built an early lead in defeating the Snyder JV, 9-2, on Saturday.
The Lady Lions led 2-0 after the first inning and built a 4-1 lead after three innings. 
Albany plated three runs in the fourth before Snyder scored its final run in the bottom of the inning. The Lady Lions scored one run in the fifth and one in the sixth to cap off the scoring.
Snyder finished with 12 hits, led by Jerri-Lynn Villareal and Meghan Fletcher, who each had three hits. Chloe Gutierrez pitched five innings in taking the loss.

Snyder hitters: Jerri-Lynn Villarreal 2 singles, 1 double; Meghan Fletcher 2 singles, 1 double; Stormie Becerra 1 single, 1 RBI; Yesenia Rodriguez 1 single, 1 RBI; Alexia Ruiz 1 single; Nataly Aparacio 1 single; Chloe Gutierrez 1 single; Bonnie Jasper 1 single.
Snyder pitcher: Chloe Gutierrez 5 innings, 8 runs, 8 earned runs, 24 hits, 1 strikeout, 5 walks; Nataly Aparacio 1 inning, 1 run, 1 earned 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk.
Eula 15, Snyder JV 1
Eula defeated Snyder JV, 15-1.
The Lady Pirates scored four runs in the first inning, but Snyder’s Marriah Carrasco hit a solo home run in the top of the second inning. Eula scored three runs in the third and added eight runs in the fourth.
Villarreal and Aparacio each had two hits for Snyder. 
Averrie Johnson took the loss for Snyder.

Snyder hitters: Jerri-Lynn Villarreal 3 singles; Nataly Aparacio 3 singles; Marriah Carrasco 1 single, 1 home run, 1 RBI; Stormie Becerra 2 singles; Zalyn Jaramillo 2 singles; Alexia Ruiz 2 singles; Averrie Johnson 2 singles; Meghan Fletcher 1 single; Adrianna Murillo 1 single.
Snyder pitchers: Averrie Johnson 1 inning, 4 runs, 4 earned runs, 5 hits, 4 walks; Nataly Aparacio 3 innings, 11 runs, 11 earned runs, 20 hits, 1 strikeout, 3 walks.