La Joya and Pharr-San Juan-Alamo are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2020, but likely not for long. The Coyotes will host the Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with four losses in a row, La Joya turned things around against Economedes on Friday. They came out on top against the Jaguars by a score of 10-7. The high-scoring effort was just what the Coyotes needed considering they were shut out in their previous matchup.
Alexia Guajardo spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered seven runs (all of which were unearned) on four hits and racked up eight Ks. Those hits were her first of the season.
Merelly Rodriguez
| 04/11/25 vs Economedes | 5 |
| 03/04/25 vs Hanna | 3 |
| 04/04/25 vs Edinburg | 2 |
| 04/01/25 @ Weslaco | 2 |
| 03/22/24 @ Economedes | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Merelly Rodriguez, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, five RBI, and one double. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Liani Rodriguez, who scored four runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
La Joya always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. They are 2-1 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo posted their closest win since February 14th on Friday. They had just enough and edged out Edinburg North 5-3. The Bears haven't had any issues with the Cougars recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and she was also dialed-in: Arieanna Hernandez gave up three earned runs on six hits.
On the hitting side, Arianna Lugo was excellent, going 2-for-4 with one home run. Another player making a difference was Azul Rios, who went 1-for-4 with one home run.
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo pushed their record up to 20-2 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.8 runs over those games. As for La Joya, their win bumped their record up to 4-13.
La Joya might still be hurting after the 18-1 defeat they got from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo in their previous matchup back in March. Can the Coyotes avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
