KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — On the final day of the inaugural Los Fresnos-Port Isabel round robin tournament, the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons relied on their bats.
During the first inning, Alyssa Peralez swatted a three-run homer that was followed by a two-run shot from Aileen Avelar to help fuel a seven-run frame, as Los Fresnos beat Rio Hondo 16-3 in three innings Saturday.
The Lady Falcons wrapped up tournament play with a 5-0 record and are feeling good heading into their non-district tilt with Harlingen South on Tuesday.
“From game to game, you just don’t know what can happen,” Los Fresnos skipper Traci Blackmon said. “There are some spots we are still working on and sharpening those skills. We continue to work on our hitting and finding our pitches, and getting our hitters some looks by moving the line up around a little bit.”
Los Fresnos plated eight more runs during the second inning. Vicky Perales got in on the fun with a two-run home run of her own. On the day, Los Fresnos finished with 13 hits.
Perales finished the day 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs, a pair of singles and three RBIs. Val Guevara also went 3-for-3 with two runs and a pair of RBIs.
“We are seeing the ball very well,” Blackmon said. “From top to bottom, but that can change tomorrow with a different pitcher. We have some tough teams coming up and we don’t take anyone lightly, and with these tournaments we are using it to piece everything together.”
Rio Hondo went 2-3 in tournament play and will begin district play Tuesday against Hidalgo at home. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Nayeli Garcia went 2 for 2 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored, Savanna Gonzalez went 1-for-2 at the plate with an RBI and Abbie Torris also went 1-for-2 with an RBI.
“Something that we are real proud of is that we continue to be competitive,” Rio Hondo coach Brett Esparza said. “We have a young team and here in Rio Hondo we have plenty of athletes, but at the end of the day we are trying to measure up by playing against teams that play year-round and that are a lot older. It is not that we can’t do it, we just need to find a way to close that gap faster.”
Lyford went 5-0 at Port Isabel. The Lady Bulldogs continue to stay hot with wins over Hidalgo, Rio Hondo, San Antonio Veterans Memorial, Port Isabel and, on Saturday, Lyford wrapped up a 9-0 win over Harlingen High.
Against the Lady Cardinals, Mikaela Lopez and Hannah Garza collected two hits each, as the Lyford offense used a five-run second inning to help build an early lead. Jerrica Rojas whiffed eight batters in three innings of work and allowed just one hit, and the offense aided her with nine runs on nine hits.
STRONG EFFORT
Harlingen South went 4-2 at the Border Olympics over the weekend. South picked up wins against Laredo United, Robstown, Alice and, in the bronze title game, South beat Laredo Alexander 16-1 to win the bracket.
The Lady Hawks’ two losses came against Medina Valley and Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial. Senior outfielder Natasha Canales was tabbed most valuable player in the bronze bracket.
Harlingen South next travels to Los Fresnos at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.