Los Fresnos News

Los Fresnos Little League Senior Softball

The Team is: Bottom row from left:Idalee Ibarra, Addie Loera, Aixa Araguz, Elizabeth Vasquez, Valerie Guevara, Clarissa Ibarra, Shivani Garcia, Bianca Martinez, and Monica Ortiz; Top row from left: Coach Flory Loera, Tabitha Garcia, Coach Joe Garcia, Ashley Muniz, and Coach Pablo Garcia.

The Team is: Bottom row from left:Idalee Ibarra, Addie Loera, Aixa Araguz, Elizabeth Vasquez, Valerie Guevara, Clarissa Ibarra, Shivani Garcia, Bianca Martinez, and Monica Ortiz; Top row from left: Coach Flory Loera, Tabitha Garcia, Coach Joe Garcia, Ashley Muniz, and Coach Pablo Garcia.

Heading to the Little League World Series is a dream that many young ball players have all around the world. Fortunately, a softball team from Los Fresnos came very close to this dream.

The Lady Falcons Senior Softball team from the Los Fresnos Little League reached the Southwest Regional Tournament in Vidalia, Louisiana on July 23,2017, only one step away from the Little League Softball World Series, after winning the Texas Little League State Tournament in Abilene, Texas on July 17, 2017. Many of these girls have been playing together since they were 9 years old. They have had two previous opportunities to play for the State Championship, yet they have come up short each time. Since this was the last year many of them were going to be eligible to play for the Little League, they were not going to let anything get in their way of achieving this dream.

This dream was not only a dream they had for themselves but also a dream their former coach, David Loera, had as well.

Unfortunately, Coach Loera passed away unexpectedly two years ago, only days before the girls were to begin playing for another run to reach the state tournament. David Loera was a head coach to many of these girls (including his daughter) since they had started playing softball and always believed that they would reach this level. Coach Loera was not only a coach to these girls but also a father figure that instilled many life lessons away from the game of softball.

Within the following years after Coach Loera’s passing, Pablo Garcia became the head coach for these girls and helped them accomplish this dream of being state champions. In the first round of tournament play, the Lady Falcons defeated Corpus Christi in a 2 game series which led to advancing to the state round. At the state tournament, they defeated Central Texas in the championship round which led to the Southwest Regional Tournament. During the Southwest Regional Tournament, the girls defeated Arkansas in the first game which led to the winner’s bracket. Unfortunately, in the winner’s bracket, Louisiana, whom would win the regional tournament, defeated Los Fresnos which ended the Lady Falcons’ run to the World Series. Although it didn’t end in a win, the Lady Falcons made history for the Los Fresnos Little League by winning the Little League Texas State Championship.