KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star
The Harlingen Lady Cardinals continue to roll as they won their third straight game on Friday in a 10-1 victory over Brownsville Hanna. The Lady Cards are now 4-2 in District 32-6A and tied with Weslaco High.
Junior hurler Carla Arellano pitched a complete game, yielding one run on four hits and with eight strikeouts.
Meanwhile, there was no shortage of offense as Harlingen clubbed six doubles. Bri Garza and Emily Garcia each had two. Garcia was 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI while Garza wound up 2 for 3. As a team, the Lady Cards finished with 17 hits and drew six walks.
Up next is a road test at San Benito at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
HARLINGEN SOUTH: The train continues to roll for the Lady Hawks as they improved their 32-6A record to 6-0 with an 8-0 win at Weslaco East on Friday.
South will now host Brownsville Rivera on Tuesday and are looking to finish the first round of league play unbeaten.
LYFORD: The Lady Bulldogs began District 32-3A play with a bang as they needed only three innings to secure a 15-0 win over Monte Alto on Friday.
Senior pitcher Evelyn Ortiz faced only 10 batters and struck out five. Jerrica Rojas, Ayleen Castillo and Leilani Salazar all collected three hits each in the win.
Up next is a home game against Edinburg IDEA Quest at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
RIO HONDO: The Lady Cats are in the driver seat in District 32-4A with a 7-0 record and have won convincing games this week against Za-pata (6-1) and Port Isabel (5-2).
The second half of the league season begins Tuesday at Raymondville with the first pitch slated for 7 p.m.
Against Port Isabel on Saturday, freshman Abbie Torris swatted four hits and on Tuesday against Zapata she was 4 for 4 with a double and four runs.
On Saturday, Rio Hondo’s starting lineup consisted of three freshmen in Torris, Kelsey Pizarro and Dominique De Jesus. Nayeli Garcia is the lone sophomore followed by four seniors in Annie and Abbie Alvarado, April Adames and Bianca Cruz.
“I have a patient approach at the plate; I sit and wait for the pitch,” said Torris. “It was hard at first coming up to the varsity level; I would strike out a lot, but I’ve gotten used to the speed of the game and the pitching. The older girls have helped me, too. I’ve settled in well and I’m having fun.”
SAN BENITO: The Lady Hounds answered the bell Friday night against Weslaco High as their offense erupted for 13 hits and seven runs in a 7-4 win.
San Benito (5-1) has now won two straight and are back in the 32-6A title race with Harlingen South (6-0). The Lady Hounds will finish the first half of district play on Tuesday at home against Harlingen High.
The Lady Hounds used a five-run first inning, an Audrey Huerta grand slam and a two-run homer in the fifth by Meagan Ybarra to seal the victory.
“Hitting is contagious,” said San Benito coach Denise Lira. “Who wouldn’t want to score five runs in the first inning and to get it in the first inning helped out our pitcher and our team. We were able to come in with a relaxed but focused mindset, and we were able to take it one game at a time.”