By Stefan Modrich | Staff Writer
LYFORD — Junior starting pitcher Abel Gonzalez set the tone for Lyford from the mound and in the batter’s box, striking out seven Rio Hondo hitters and allowing just two hits in four innings of a 9-2 win for the Bulldogs.
Gonzalez hit leadoff for Lyford (5-0), reaching base in three of his four plate appearances, stroking a pair of singles and scoring in the sixth inning after drawing a walk.
Lyford coach Kevin Ledesma praised Gonzalez, calling him a “young and humble guy that definitely makes the team go around.”
Though Ledesma was pleased by his team’s cohesiveness and approach at the plate, he noted the Bulldogs do have room to grow with the second week of the season now underway.
“ We’re young, we’re still making (a few) mistakes,” Lyford coach Kevin Ledesma said. “Our team came together as a group, and as a great team today. It was an overall, total group effort. Nobody was individual at all, whether it was the guys who played every inning or the guys who didn’t play. The energy was high, and we just tried to put the ball in play and make things happen.”
The Bobcats (3-2) scored the game’s first run during the top of the first, when Rio Hondo starting pitcher Cross Gonzalez singled home shortstop Derek Castellanos, who reached on an error. Lyford tied the game in the second after center fielder Diego Guerra stole second, advanced to third on an error and scored on a fielder’s choice.
Shortstop Matthew Sanchez ignited a decisive four-run third inning with a single, the first of three Lyford hits in the frame. Catcher Sebastian Garza capped the rally with a groundout to shortstop, scoring Guerra and providing a comfortable 6-1 cushion for the Bulldogs the rest of the way
Third baseman Alfonso Garcia (2-for-3 with a double, single and two RBIs) and Guerra (3-for-3 with three singles and an RBI) were the top offensive performers for the Bulldogs.
Garcia’s fifth-inning double, which struck the batter’s eye Ledesma and his players nicknamed the “Green Monster” 335 feet away to dead center, was perhaps the most well-hit ball of the evening.
Lyford’s Abel Gonzalez earned the win, and Rio Hondo starting pitcher Cross Gonzalez took the loss.
Matthew Sanchez came on to replace Abel Gonzalez to start the sixth for the Bulldogs. Cross Gonzalez led off the inning for the Bobcats and scored on a fielder’s choice by Ivan Juarez, who was inserted in relief in the fifth for Rio Hondo and allowed two walks and three more Lyford runs in the sixth.
Lyford plays host to rival Raymondville at 7 p.m. Friday, and Rio Hondo will compete in the La Joya Tournament, which begins Thursday and runs through Saturday.