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Mercedes Junior Softball Lady Tigers Named the West Texas League Champions

4 years 8 months 1 week ago Friday, July 19 2019 Jul 19, 2019 July 19, 2019 3:48 PM July 19, 2019 in News - Local

MERCEDES - The Mercedes Junior Softball Lady Tigers team was named the West Texas league champions after the team they lost to was disqualified.

The Mercedes All-Star Lady Tigers should be on their way to the little league softball tournament Regionals in New Mexico, instead they are still in Mercedes trying to figure out how to get there.

Head coach Ismael "Smiley" Sanchez tells us after two loses to Eagle pass during tournament play in Abeline earlier this week, the team was out.

The girls got a second chance they never saw coming.
 
"Hey, you know what Eagle Pass got disqualified, will your team be able to travel out there of course we only got the notice yesterday and we do have to, us coaches, show up there tomorrow," says coach Sanchez.

Their team spirit says yes, their pockets tell a slightly different story.

"We are scrambling like asking people for help, to help us out because we are representing Mercedes, representing West Texas and The Rio Grande Valley and these girls have a long way- I'm sure parents are getting advance loans and advance pays - it cost money," says one of the girls’ parents.

She tells us between hotel stays, gas, food and other expenses a trip like this could range from $700 to $1,300 per girl; with 12 girls on the team they have a big chunk of money to gather.

Coach Sanchez tells us the city of Mercedes sometimes makes small financial contributions to the team.

In this case, he adds, there's no time for the city to go through the required due process to help the team monetarily.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS reached out to the Mercedes city manager to find out if there's any city fund to help the team immediately; he wasn't immediately available.

Coach Sanchez says however this plays out; there are valuable lessons for his players.

For more information, contact 956-294-9587.

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