By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
PORT ISABEL — The Rivera Lady Raiders are working hard to achieve better things in softball this season.
A pair of wins Friday at the Los Fresnos-Port Isabel Tournament did a lot to help them on their way.
The Rivera girls downed Hidalgo 15-3 on Friday morning before adding a 4-2 victory against Port Isabel in the late afternoon.
The three-day, 10-team tournament that features round robin competition ends today.
There was more to smile about for the Lady Raiders on Friday after they started tournament play with two setbacks Thursday.
Friday’s victories gave Rivera a 5-4 record on the season.
“I feel like we’ve progressed a lot since last year, judging by the game we had against Port Isabel last season,” said Bethany Guzman, Rivera’s sophomore pitcher. “If I remember correctly, it was 17-1 (and we lost). This year, it was 4-2 and we won, so I really feel we’re getting a lot better as a team.
“Also, my pitching has improved,” added Guzman, who played on the varsity as a freshman. “I think I’m getting better as a player, so I feel that’s helping us. Actually, overall, we’re just doing really well.
“We’re definitely improving in our communication (on the field). Before, we wouldn’t really know the plays and where to go with the ball. We weren’t talking that much, and now, we’re communicating and playing together better as a team.”
Guzman went the distance for the six-inning win against Port Isabel. She had seven strikeouts with only one walk, allowing just three hits.
Rivera scored one run during the top of the first inning. The Lady Raiders added three more runs during the top of the second to take a 4-0 advantage.
Rivera’s initial first-inning run came home on a wild pitch.
An RBI infield single by Guzman in the second gave Rivera a 2-0 advantage before two more runs came in later during the inning due to a fielding error on a long ball hit to right field by Kenya Ibarra.
The Lady Tarpons closed the gap to 4-2 during the bottom of the fourth thanks to a two-run single to right-center field by Kyla Mata.
That’s the way the contest ended.
“I’m very happy with the way Bethany pitched,” Lady Raiders coach Joel Guzman said. “She made only one mistake on that hit when they scored two runs, but other than that, she held Port Isabel’s top hitters pretty much in check. That was one key.
“The other key was that our bats came alive in those first two innings,” the coach added. “We were able to jump on them right away. Those would be the two takeaways from this game.
“Going 2-0 today certainly builds our confidence going into our next non-district games and our next tournament. Our girls are coming together. They’re learning to play as a team. They’re understanding that everyone has to do her part. Yes, today was a big confidence booster for the whole team.”
Rivera outhit Port Isabel 7-3. Six of the Lady Raiders’ hits came during the first two innings. Ibarra led the way for Rivera by batting 2-for-2. Also for Rivera, Ashlyn Tapia batted 1-for-3 and led off the game with a double to right field.
In addition to the Lady Tarpons’ two-run single during the fourth by Mata, teammates Gabby Murchison and Alanna Zermeno each had a single.
“We’re a really, really young team,” said Lady Tarpons coach Danno Wise, whose team lost to Lyford 14-0 earlier Friday in the tournament. “We lost nine players from last year’s varsity squad, so we’re still kind of in an experimental stage (so far this season). We’re still figuring out what we have.
“Even with that said, we had a couple of girls out for this game with other events and activities, so we were even younger than we might already be,” added Wise, whose girls open District 32-4A competition at home Tuesday against Raymondville. “We had some other players in there trying to do what they could do.
“I thought our girls played with good energy and fight throughout the game against Rivera. We gave ourselves a chance to win it at the end, so that was good. Giving ourselves a chance to win is all we can ask. It just didn’t work out our way.”
Port Isabel closes out tournament play at home at 11 a.m. today against San Antonio Veterans Memorial. Rivera ended its tournament play Friday.
The Lady Raiders next play at PSJA Southwest on Tuesday.