West dominates East

SHARYLAND - La Joya pitcher Aysha Solis was in rare form and it appeared she had not lost a step after a spectacular senior season as she struck out 13 batters, leading the West All-Stars to an 8-0 victory over the East All-Stars Tuesday night at Sharyland High School in the 3rd annual East-West All-Star Softball Showcase.

Solis pitched all eight innings and threw a four-hit shutout, which earned her MVP honors.

"It feels great to be able to play one more time as a senior and end it this way," said Solis. "I felt good on the mound and was on my A game."

The West squad got on the board first 3-0 in the bottom of the first as Edinburg North's Alyssa Granado nailed a two-run single scoring Sharyland's Kezia Cabrera and Mission Veterans courtesy runner Michelle Marin. Granado scored on a sacrifice-RBI by Sharyland's Kay Motheral.

Motheral hit her second RBI of the night as she singled to right field scoring Marin to give the West a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third.

PSJA North's Amanda Pecina scored on a throwing error by Weslaco pitcher Nikki Cavazos and increased the West's lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth.

The West increased their lead to 8-0 in the same inning as Cabrera singled to left scoring PSJA North's Robin Martinez and Solis nailed an RBI-triple to deep right field. Granado scored the last run of the night on a sacrifice-RBI by PSJA North's Crystal Escobedo.

The East had a chance to get on the board in the top of the seven with runners on second and first and no outs. But, Mercedes first baseman Jessy Cadena popped out to second base and Solis struck out the next two to go unscathed.

West head coach Paul Cruz said that he was pleased with the way his team played.

"The one thing about these girls is that their skill level is second to none," said Cruz, the head coach at Sharyland. "We put the ball in play and did a good job defensively. And as for Solis, she was on tonight. I asked her if she wanted to keep going throughout the contest and she said yes. She pitched an incredible game and the other girls played a heck of a game."

East head coach Joey Palacios said that he knew his team was in for a tough outing with Solis on the mound, but had some encouraging words for his team.

"I told the girls to go out and have some fun," said Palacios, the head coach at Edcouch-Elsa. "We knew that Solis was going to be tough on the mound and she proved it tonight. However, I am proud of my team. They never put their heads down and played their hearts out until the end."