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By Frank Cardenas, South Texas Community News Dec. 3, 2020

 Lady Lion Softball standouts Jackie Garza, Carissa De Los Santos, and Alana Benitez each put pen to paper, acknowledging their intent to play college ball for their respective colleges, at a recent signing held for the three athletes.

Each player signed their letter-of-intent and are looking forward to not only playing at the college level, but adding to their already loaded career stat sheets at the high school level in their final season with SGA; especially after last season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, the Lady Lions managed to go 24-0 before the season’s end.

Each player had a role in SGA’s Class 3A State Championship run in 2018, and each player was also a part of the 2019 Easton/NFCA All-American Scholar team, with the highest Grade Point Average in the country.

Jackie Garza signed the dotted line to play softball at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, and she said she is looking forward to playing at the next level.

Since 2018, Garza’s stat line includes a .397 batting average, a .466 on-base percentage, and a .770 slugging percentage.

She hit 28 doubles, 11 triples, and 19 home runs for 115 RBIs. She was walked 37 times, crossed the plate for 97 total runs and collected 26 stolen bases.

Garza was named to the First-team All-District list in her first year at SGA, was named All-District Defensive Player of the Year the following season, and is a two-time Coastal Bend Pre-Season All-Star selection and a two-time District All-Academic team member.

“I feel good about signing and it’s a great opportunity,” Garza said. “I put in a lot of hard work and I’m excited for the future.”
Garza said she wants to thank her family for everything they’ve done for her and she appreciates all their sacrifices for getting her to this point in her life.

Carissa De Los Santos will remain home and play softball for Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and she is excited to be on the same roster as her family members – Saidi Castillo and Jackie De Los Santos -  at the collegiate level.

“It’s exciting; I’m happy that I get to play with my sister and my cousin for another year,” she said. “I’m glad that my hard work paid off and I’m glad that my friends got to do it, too.”

De Los Santos was named to the Class 3A State All-Tournament team as a Utility Player in 2018, was also selected to the All-State Third-team as a Utility Player, and was named the 2018 District Newcomer of the Year.

The following season she was named as District MVP and made the Class 3A All-State team. She is a two-time Coastal Bend Pre-Season All-Star selection and a two-time District All-Academic team member.

De Los Santos’ batting average is .535 through her three years so far, with an on-base percentage of .597, and a slugging percentage of .884.

At the plate, she has 34 doubles, 16 home runs, 133 RBIs, and has walked 38 times.

In the circle, De Los Santos has collected 405 strikeouts with an earned run average of 1.23, and an overall record of 50-5.

Alana Benitez signed her letter-of-intent to play ball at Coastal Bend College, following a dream she’s had since she was a kid.

“I’m very excited and I’m glad I got to sign with my best friends,” Benitez said. “We’ve been growing up together and we all got to sign together, and playing college ball was a dream that all of us had.”

In 2018, Benitez was named to the All-District Second-team and she made the All-District First-team the following season.

Over her career, she has a .333 batting average and an on-base percentage of .416.

Benitez has racked up 16 doubles, four triples, and two home runs with 57 RBIs. She was also walked 24 times, crossed the plate for 66 runs and has 15 stolen bases to her credit.

Benitez wants to thank her family for all their support and sacrifices throughout the years, and she loves them very much.