NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
There’s nothing like winning your first tournament championship. Following a 7-4 victory against Edinburg High in the La Joya Tournament title game on Saturday night in La Joya, no one understands this feeling better than Rio Hondo head coach Brett Esparza.
“It’s a great accomplishment for our kids and our program,” Esparza said. “This is the first time we’ve ever won this tournament in our program history, and I’m in my sixth year at Rio Hondo. I’m super excited for what’s on the horizon. It’s a great way to end the tournament season for us.”
Despite winning the game by three runs, Rio Hondo didn’t experience as much smooth sailing as the final score may suggest. Edinburg scored the game’s first run in the third inning on an RBI single from catcher Anngie Salinas.
In the top of the fourth, Edinburg made a pitching change after starter Amber Reyes went the first three innings giving up no runs on one hit and one walk with three strikeouts. Edinburg decided to put Deziree Marmolejo on the mound, and that is when the Rio Hondo bats came alive.
Rio Hondo scored two runs in the fourth to take the lead and scored two each in the fifth and seventh innings for insurance. One of Rio Hondo’s big boppers was right fielder Bianca Cruz. Batting in the cleanup spot, Cruz made her presence felt with a 3-for-5 effort accumulating an RBI triple, RBI single and run-scoring groundout.
“The second time through the lineup, we were talking amongst ourselves saying, ‘We got this,’” Cruz said. “The score (after three innings) wasn’t the one we wanted, and we had the confidence we could change it.”
Providing the versatility for the Lady Bobcats of Rio Hondo was pitcher Miranda Martinez. Martinez pitched a complete game on the mound and helped out her own cause at the plate with an RBI single in the fourth inning and a towering solo home run in the sixth.
“Show us some teeth: that’s been our motto,” Martinez said. “I couldn’t do this myself. It was a team effort. Our defense is A1. Our pitching — me and the other two pitchers — the mindset was, ‘We’re going to come out strong, and we’re here to win.’”