BY MARK MOLINA, STAFF WRITER
The Rivera Lady Raiders came into this season knowing they will put a significant amount of youth on the field, boasting just one senior.
It showed in their latest outing as infield errors and pitching plagued the Lady Raiders in a 19-1 three-inning District 32-6A loss to Harlingen High on Friday night at Rivera High School.
A few walks and wild pitches put Rivera on its heels in the first inning, setting the tone for the rest of the way.
“Obviously things didn’t go our way after a bases on balls and errors seemed to rattle us,” Rivera head coach Joel Guzman said. “We could never get back in the game even though we hit the ball and got some girls on base, but when our defense isn’t on, it’s kind of hard to compete. We look at this as a learning moment so we’ll look forward and learn from our mistakes.
“It leaves a bad taste in our mouth, but it only motivates us to work harder and get better everyday.”
In three innings, Lady Raider pitching faced 31 Harlingen batters, giving up eight hits, eight walks, 13 earned runs and six more on errors and passed balls.
Meanwhile, Harlingen’s defense was able to make it an early night as freshmen pitcher Zoey Rosas has a nice night in the circle as ace Skylar Macias was given the night off.
Rosas picked up the win, allowing three hits, an earned run, four walks and a pair of strikeouts.
“I think we came in and played our game and we kept it simple,” Harlingen head coach Cassandra Hernandez said. “(Rosas) is now our ace and is stepping up as a freshman and is doing very well.”
Rivera fell to 0-2 in District play (0-10 overall) while Harlingen earned its first district win to move to 1-1 in league play.
While Rosas had a steady night for Harlingen, Rivera senior pitcher Cassandra Gauajardo struggled early, loading the bases on three straight freebies in the top of the first frame with no outs.
She ended the first with three wild pitches for scores and in a 4-0 hole.
Rivera answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning after an RBI single by Ashley Quintero brought in Anahi Reyes for the host’s lone run.
Harlingen proceeded to pour on 12 runs in the second inning and three more in the third to initiate the run-rule.
Guajardo took the loss in the circle after giving up 11 earned runs, seven hits and seven walks in 1 1/3 innings before giving way to relief pitcher Emily Ayala.
Harlingen’s Gerrie Ortiz had a good night, going 3 for 3 with three RBIs and scoring three runs.