Midland High’s Jade Rodriguez (right) gives Gabby Gomez the scouting report on the El Paso Montwood pitcher, April 24, 2026, at Martin Field.
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Midland High’s Marley Porter (left) gets greeted by first base coach Stephanie Rendon after her bunt single against El Paso Montwood, April 24, 2026, at Martin Field.
Christopher Hadorn/Reporter-Telegram
Midland High’s Malyah Carrillo delivers a pitch to an El Paso Montwood batter, April 24, 2026, at Martin Field.
Christopher Hadorn/Reporter-Telegram
Midland High’s Marley Porter (left) leads off third base while El Paso Montwood’s Leah Ramirez covers the bag, April 24, 2026, at Maritn Field.
Christopher Hadorn/Reporter-Telegram
Midland High softball coach Shawnda Vines gives a sign to her batter during a playoff game against El Paso Montwood, April 24, 2026, at Martin Field.
Christopher Hadorn/Reporter-Telegram
El Paso Montwood’s Bella Sanchez delivers a pitch to a Midland High batter, April 24, 2026, at Martin Field.
Christopher Hadorn/Reporter-Telegram
Midland High’s Jade Rodriguez (left) gets a scouting report on El Paso Montwood’s pitcher from Jordyn Arellano, April 24, 2026, at Martin Field.
Christopher Hadorn/Reporter-Telegram
No. 4-ranked Midland High was foreign to playing tight contests or games when trailing during District 2-6A play.
Midland outscored opponents 145-23 on its way to a 10-0 district record.
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But the Lady Bulldogs softball team found itself in a pressure-packed game on Friday.
Midland trailed by two runs heading into its final at-bat against El Paso Montwood in Game 1 of a Class 6A Division II bi-district playoff series at Martin Field.
The Lady Dawgs handled the tension well as Mireya Rodriguez hit a walk-off single to score Emeri Ream and Nyah Aguilar and lift Midland to a 7-6 win over the Lady Rams.
Rodriguez drove the ball deep to the left-center gap with the bases loaded and one out.
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“I just knew that I needed to hit the ball far and hit it in a good spot and that’s what I wanted to do,” Rodriguez said.
The series continues with Game 2 at 9 a.m. Saturday at Martin Field. If needed, Game 3 will follow.
The Lady Bulldogs (32-3) can win the series with one more win.
Midland entered the bottom of the seventh trailing Montwood 6-4.
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Kamryn Weir led off the inning with a single before Emeri Ream and Jordyn Arellano followed with one-out walks.
Ryleigh Thiebaud hit a ground ball to second, but Montwood second baseman Lauren Ramos chose to go home with the throw, which Weir beat for the first run of the inning.
Rodriguez followed with the game winner.
“I love that for her,” Vines said of Rodriguez. “I absolutely love that for her. She’s a senior. I love that she came in clutch right there. You can’t get anymore clutch than what she just did. She stepped in and just took advantage of the moment, propelled us into the victory. It’s beautiful to watch.”
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The Lady Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in the third when Arellano doubled home Marley Porter.
Porter doubled to lead off the inning and stole third.
However, the Lady Rams did not go away as they scored two runs in the fourth and four runs in the fifth to take a 6-4 advantage.
Jaeda Quinones gave Montwood the lead with a three-run triple in the fifth.
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Lady Rams pitcher Bella Sanchez kept Midland off the scoreboard in the fifth and sixth innings before the Lady Dawgs rallied in their final chance.
“Really there are no words for what they were able to do there at the very end of the game,” Vines said. “I felt like we struggled for the majority of the game and I felt like our kids put it all together in that seventh inning and really fought for one another. They got fired up and excited and began to pass the bat a little bit better.”
Porter was 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two steals; Arellano reached base safely in all four plate appearances by going 2-for-2 with two walks; Rodriguez was 2-for-2; Ybarra was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored; and Gabby Gomez singled, had a sac fly and two RBI.
“There’s nothing easy in the playoffs,” Vines said. “Nothing. There’s not an easy game. There’s not an easy inning. You’re going to have to fight every pitch from here on out. I think our kids understand that now and understand the intensity that you have to come out on the field with in the playoffs.”
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MIDLAND HIGH 7, EL PASO MONTWOOD 6
Montwood 000 240 0 — 6 12 2
Midland 021 100 3 — 7 10 3
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Bella Sanchez and Gracie Ponzio. Malyah Carrillo, Kamryn Weir (4) and Jordyn Arellano. W – Weir. L – Sanchez. 2B – Montwood: Ashley Gutierrez; Midland: Marley Porter, Arellano Emberlee Ybarra. 3B – Montwood: Jaeda Quinones.