By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Port Isabel is ready to defend its District 32-4A co-district championship and has a group of five seniors ready to start the district season Tuesday.
Catcher Michelle Martinez, third baseman Guillian Garza, second baseman Natasha Ramirez, first baseman/pitcher Marina Wise-Herring and shortstop Alexandria Martinez comprise the senior soul of the Lady Tarpons’ team this season.
The five seniors are all four year-starters for Port Isabel and have been with the team through one of its best runs. Together they have won two district titles and made the playoffs three years in a row.
“Ever since we came here as freshmen, our softball program didn’t really have a history when we came in,” Ramirez said. “Ever since then we’ve been making it happen every year, and hopefully it continues this year and if not, go further.”
The expectations of reaching the playoffs and fighting for a district crown come with the success they’ve had the past three seasons.
“We’ve earned it,” said Garza, who was second-team All-Metro in 2014 while filling in at shortstop. “We’ve worked hard. We come out here Monday through Saturday, working and trying to get better.”
The Lady Tarpons hope they can keep building on their historic run with another district title and longer playoff run.
Losing six players through graduation won’t make it easy, but having a strong group of four-year starters makes Port Isabel’s goals achievable.
“It helps a lot to have them because of their game knowledge, experience and what they’ve been able to do to help the program kind of get on the map,” coach Danno Wise said. “They’ve won district two out of the last years and were runners-up the other year. So they’ve accomplished a lot.
“It’s going to be a tough fight to maintain that level of success this year. But they’ve all shown an interest in helping the program grow so that it’s in good hands when they leave.”
Wise said District 32-4A’s other playoff teams — Raymondville, Rio Hondo and Zapata — will have similar teams to last season, making the district race tight this season but the goals remain the same.
To offset some of the losses from graduation, Michelle Martinez and Wise-Herring made position changes.
Michelle Martinez started in center field for Port Isabel the past three seasons but switched to catcher at the start of the season to replaced graduated senior Cecily Niles.
She says the position switch hasn’t been difficult for her because she’s practiced at the catcher position even when she wasn’t playing it.
“I’ve always practiced catching, no matter what,” Michelle Martinez said. “I like catching and I had a feeling one day I’d play catcher in a high school season, so I always practiced on it.”
Wise-Herring, a first-team All-Metro outfielder in 2015, went from playing left field to splitting time at first base and pitcher this season.
When sophomore pitcher Christa Valdez takes the pitcher’s circle, Port Isabel has an all-senior infield. Having five seniors playing pivotal infield positions helps, but it also means the Lady Tarpons are breaking in three new starters in the outfield.
“Since these girls were freshmen, it’s been a combination of Marina and Michelle, and two girls who’ve graduated,” Wise said. “So it’s the first time we’ve had to break in an all-new outfield in a few years. But we’ve got the right people there to do it. It just takes some time. They’re all new to the outfield as well. These are all girls who’ve played a variety of infield positions that are transitioning to outfield. That’s something that I feel like by season’s end, they’ll be playing at a high level.”
No matter what happens this season, Port Isabel softball looks to keep moving forward after the seniors graduate.
Alexandria Martinez, a four-sport athlete and second-team All-Metro shortstop in 2015, thinks having a set of veterans players helps foster growth with the younger players who will take command next season and beyond.
“It’s good for the young ones,” she said. “We have a lot of sophomores on our team. It’s good that we have the experience so we can show them right way and show them to do better. We always want them to do better than what we are right now. I think it’s really good for them to look up to us. Not saying we’re the best, but experience-wise we know a lot more.”
Joshua McKinney covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald