“We told the chief umpire ‘Let’s finish this game,’” Ruiz said. “He said ‘No, I cannot delay this game anymore. I am going to call it, I have U.I.L.’s authority, I am not going to put these girls or anyone else in danger.’ At that point I realized that I needed to calm myself down and not worry about my selfishness in wanting to finish the game. I had to follow the umpires’ decision to call the game.”
The chief umpire instructed both teams to call it a night, and then come back the next day for game two.
“He told us that game one was done, that San Benito won, we were one game behind, and that game two was going to be played the following day (Saturday),” Ruiz said. “We even moved game two up from 3 p.m. to 2 p.m. and planned a third game if needed. That is how we left Laredo on Friday night, with the understanding that there was going to be a second game.”
But the Lady Eagles were greeted with a rude surprise on Saturday. With absolutely no notification, EPHS’s best of three games series was reduced to one.
“The chief umpire told us, on Saturday, that he had made a mistake, and that he had heard from U.I.L.,” Ruiz said. “He was apologizing to everyone from Eagle Pass - to us coaches, the players, Principal Rudy Bowles, and the parents.”
EPHS brass quickly contacted the University Interscholastic League, while Ruiz discussed the playoff change with the chief umpire.
“I reminded him of the decision he had made on Friday, and that now he was going back on it,” Ruiz said. “That is when Mr. Bowles got on the phone with the head umpire and someone from U.I.L. and let them have it. They apologized to Mr. Bowles and said ‘We know, the chief umpire made a bad decision, but we have to follow our rules.”
Both teams then took the field to finish out what would be the only contest of their Region IV quarterfinal, and San Benito held on for a 2-0 win.
In response to the situation, Superintendent Gilberto Gonzalez submitted a protest on Tuesday.
“I went ahead and filed a protest yesterday (Tuesday),” Gonzalez said. “Then we met with our school board and they have allowed me to go forward with filing an injunction, so that is our next step. We are filing the injunction with U.I.L. through our attorneys who are drafting it.
Gonzalez is hopeful that U.I.L. will allow the Lady Eagles to finish what they started.
“Of course we are optimistic and hoping that U.I.L. listens to our concerns,” Gonzalez said. “We want our students to continue their season, it is unfortunate how their last game ended. At least now we have a chance because we tried something. We don’t have a chance if we do nothing.”
Ruiz applauded his administration’s backing.
“I feel that we have a very good chance,” Ruiz said. “That is the best and first thing to do. We need U.I.L. to hear us out and understand how and why the chief umpire’s decision was made. U.I.L. needs to accept that the ultimate person who made the decision was the chief umpire who told us he had U.I.L.’s authority and was making the call whether we liked it or not.”
Time, of course, is a factor right now as San Benito plays its next playoff game on Friday.
“San Benito is scheduled to play its next playoff game on Friday,” Gonzalez said. “That is why we are doing everything in our power to stop that game from taking place. Hopefully U.I.L. will rule in our favor and allow us to play San Benito again.”