KEVIN NARRO | STAFF WRITER
RIO HONDO—Heading into their Spring Break matchup, both the Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats and Port Isabel Lady Tarpons were battling for the top spot in District 32-4A.
It was Rio Hondo that would take control behind senior pitcher Erika Cortez, who twirled a no-hitter in a complete game shutout while fanning 15 batters en route to a 4-0 win over Port Isabel.
“I did not know I had a no-hitter going,” Cortez said. “I don’t pay attention to those things; I just go out there and pitch. I found out after the game when coach told me and I was excited.”
The only blemish came on an error in the first inning that broke up the bid for a perfect game. After that, Cortez was masterful. The hard-throwing righty retired the next 18 batters she faced.
“I felt like I could have done better, but I will admit my change-up really worked tonight,” Cortez said. “It was something that coach (Brett) Esparza and I worked on all week and I needed it to help me keep the batters off balance.”
On the other side, junior pitcher Vivi Cantu held her own in the circle for the Lady Tarpons. In the bottom of the third inning, Domo De Jesus broke the scoreless tie on an RBI double giving Rio Hondo a 1-0 lead.
“We just talked about it with the kids, that Rio Hondo is a heck of a team,” Port Isabel coach Danno Wise said. “I thought Vivi did a great job for us in the circle and Allison Gonzalez played her tail off at short stop. They both do a good job on supporting each other in the circle.”
The Lady ‘Cats took advantage of Port Isabel’s errors in the fifth and sixth inning that helped stretch the lead 4-0.
“We have two games left in the first round,” Wise said. “We are in a good spot and have put ourselves in position to grab a playoff spot.”
Rio Hondo improves to 5-0 in league play and will get Progreso up next on Tuesday, while Port Isabel is now 4-1 but still in good shape and will look to rebound against Zapata.
“Coming into Spring Break you never know where the focus will be because we are so young,” said Rio Hondo coach Brett Esparza. “We have kids in the stock show and they are out and trying to get out here, but tonight, we played a good ball club. With a strong wind blowing in and for us to settle down and play solid defense behind Erika, we are happy to finish Spring Break at 5-0 in district.”