By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
The Porter Cowgirls had big shoes to fill after the graduation of their ace pitcher, but so far a talented duo has stepped up in the pitcher’s circle.
Freshman Brenda Garcia and senior Brissa Rivera share starting pitcher duties for Porter softball this season. Garcia is following her sister Sabrina, the Cowgirls’ starting pitcher the past four seasons.
“Mentally, (Garcia) handles herself very well,” Porter coach Ariel Arredondo said. “At times it’s hard to tell she’s a freshman, but you do see that freshman mentality after a while. She’ll get a little rattled when people start hitting her because she’ll start hitting her spots.
“She’s not as consistent as my senior pitcher (Rivera), who maybe doesn’t have as many pitches as (Garcia) does but she gets on the mound and is in total game mode the entire time. She won’t stutter or falter on that.”
Garcia enjoys getting to follow in her older sister’s footsteps as a pitcher for Porter (7-7, 1-1)
“It’s pretty cool playing with all of the girls she used to play with,” she said. “I’m out on the mound doing what she used to do.”
Her coach doesn’t want the young ace-in-making to try to be like Sabrina Garcia. Arredondo wants her to be better.
“I don’t want her to be her sister. I want her to work harder than her sister,” Arredondo said. “I want her to be better than her sister was. She’s working at it. They run a mile before they pitch, they do their pitching drills and do another mile or mile and a half. She’s right there with them.”
Rivera has been chomping at the bit for a chance to pitch after spending the past three seasons playing third base for Porter.
While she splits the workload with Brenda Garcia, the senior still gets her fair share of opportunities to prove her stuff. Rivera thrives on toeing the rubber in high-pressure situations.
“If we make mistakes, I want to go up and pitch. I want to end it,” Rivera said. “If we’re in a bad position, I feel driven to get up on the mound and strike everyone out.”
Arredondo notices that the rest of the Cowgirls feed off Rivera’s intensity when she pitches.
“She loves to be put in that situation where you don’t know if you’re always going to win or you’re going to come out victorious, but she likes that challenge,” Arredondo said. “She has that beast-mode mentality every time she gets on the mound, and she shares it and it spreads throughout the rest of the team. They feel comfortable. They feel safe when she’s on the mound.”
Arredondo expects her pitchers to be a strength during Porter’s attempt at another playoff berth, and perhaps a District 32-5A crown.
“Pitching is always a concern, because you need to make sure you have a solid pitcher,” Arredondo said. “I have a lot of confidence and have a lot of faith in pitchers, and so far they’ve been doing fairly well.”
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.