Weslaco pulled off the most improbable comeback in UIL softball history to win the Class 6A state championship Saturday night.
All it took was eight runs in the bottom of the seventh, with sophomore Andrea Ortiz delivering a legendary walk-off grand slam that gave Weslaco a stunning 11-9 win over Waco Midway at Red & Charline McCombs Field in Austin.
Waco Midway had a 9-3 lead with 1 out in the 7th inning of the 6A #UILState Championship. Weslaco storms back and wins it as Andrea Ortiz hits a walk off grand slam to send everyone home. 8 run 7th inning. Absolutely incredible. pic.twitter.com/OTJzPGdsuI
— Chase Snyder (@ChasingSnyder) June 2, 2024
That came a day after Weslaco shocked nationally ranked Denton Guyer 5-3 in a 13-inning marathon that lasted nearly four hours. And after that dramatic finish, Weslaco’s 10 seniors donned their caps and gowns and walked down the first-base line and received their high school diplomas because they couldn’t attend the school’s graduation ceremony that day.
To top it all off, it was the first UIL softball state title for a team from the Rio Grande Valley. And it came after Weslaco was two outs from defeat Saturday, trailing 9-3 with one out and nobody on in the seventh.
But back-to-back singles, coupled with an error, produced the first run. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases before a hit batter made it 9-5. An infield RBI single by Elizabeth Craig got Weslaco within 9-6, and Romy Nunez’s RBI single made it a 9-7 game and set up Ortiz’s heroics.
Before her home run, Ortiz was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. And Weslaco won a game in which Midway hit four home runs, a new state tournament record. The previous record was three by Class 4A Corpus Christi Calallen against Iowa Park in 2021.
Weslaco senior softball players couldn’t take part in their school’s graduation today, so they donned gap and gown and received their diplomas on the field after a 5-3, 13-inning win over Denton Guyer in 6A state semifinal.@SportsDayHS @uiltexas @MaxPreps pic.twitter.com/DWlmmIanre
— Greg Riddle (@DMNGregRiddle) June 1, 2024
Weslaco even made ESPN’s SportsCenter. Here’s the clip.
We are WESLACO! 💜🐾💜🐾💜🐾💜🐾 pic.twitter.com/cwZbXQhw3i
— Edith (@ELermaFaltine) June 2, 2024
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