KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
RAYMONDVILLE—The Raymondville Lady Bearkats overcame the misty conditions, scoring early and often.
A five-run first inning set the tone for the night, as Karina Garza and Celyna Vasquez each collected three hits en route to a 17-1 win over Hidalgo in four innings Tuesday.
With one game left in the first round of district play against Zapata, Lady ’Kats coach Cassandra Hernandez says her club is heading in the right direction with a 4-2 district record.
“I think we are starting to find our team. At the start of the season everyone was able to play everywhere, and we just needed to find the right fit on who went where,” Hernandez said. “We are getting there, we are getting better. We are growing in the circle and we are growing, it is good.”
Raymondville wasted no time regaining the lead after falling behind 1-0 in the top half of the first inning. The offense took an aggressive approach at the plate and on the basepaths by taking advantage of the passed balls.
After the five-run inning, Raymondville strung together a six-run third and a four-run fourth. Their six-run rally came with six hits, highlighted by a two-run double from Rachel Muniz and an RBI base knock from Vasquez. Muniz finished the night 1-for-2, Kristine Gonzales went 2-for-2 and Alyssa Ramirez finished the night 2-for-3.
“At the plate I just knew I had to make contact and get on base,” Muniz said. “Right now I’m seeing the ball well, and I’m batting cleanup and I’m feeling good. My job is to be hot at the plate and produce runs at the plate.”
In the circle was junior Aaliyah Munoz. The righty was sharp and overcame the wet conditions by pitching four innings, yielding one run on two hits and four walks, and she whiffed four batters. After wiggling out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, Munoz retired nine of the next 10 batters she faced.
“I just tried to keep the batters off balance tonight,” Munoz said. “I threw different pitches, so I wasn’t throwing the same thing over and over. I mixed in some off-speed stuff and mixed in my riseball. In this weather, we are used to it, we have practiced in it and have played in it before, so it really wasn’t much of a factor.”
Against La Feria last week, Raymondville moved around its lineup, looking to create a spark. During the past two games, the Raymondville offense has produced.
“We tried out this new lineup against La Feria and it worked, so we used it again tonight and the girls are backing each other up, and we feel like it is working for us and we feel like we are heading into the midway point on a good note.”