By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This past Friday the Lady Tarpons softball team traveled to Raymondville to take on the Lady Kats in a district matchup. After losing a district game to La Feria, the Lady Tarpons were looking to get back into the win column against the Lady Kats. It was a highly contested low-scoring game going until the fifth inning where Port Isabel exploded for six runs.
In the top of the first inning, Lady Tarpons’ leadoff hitter, Andrea Garcia, started off the game with a single. Unfortunately for the Lady Tarpons, the team’s offense stalled as the next three batters were called out on a strikeout and a pair pop fly balls. The Lady Kats didn’t fare much better as the teams headed to the second inning 0-0.
The Lady Tarpons continued to struggle in the second inning as they were struck out twice and thrown out at second base. In the bottom of the second, the first Raymondville batter hit the ball into left field for a triple. After walking the next batter, the Lady Kats hit a double that brought in a runner. PI’s defense stiffened up, but not before the Lady Kats went up 1-0.
The defensive battle continued in the third and fourth innings as both teams’ offenses continued to struggle. In the top of the fifth inning, the Lady Tarpon bats started to come alive. With two baserunners on base, Natalie Martinez bunted the ball and was safe at first base due to a throwing error by the catcher. Meanwhile, the Lady Tarpons took advantage of the error and stole home plate tying up the game at 1-1.
Next batter, Celina Marchan, hit the ball into the outfield, and the ball bounced out of the park for a double. Artificial turf looks very nice, but softballs can bounce higher than on a natural grass field. With two runs batted in, PI now led 3-1.
The next batter was thrown out at first base for the second out, but after two walks, the bases were loaded for Layni Mata. Mata then proceeded to hit a triple down the third base line as the visiting Lady Tarpon fans erupted in cheers. Mata’s three RBIs extended PI’s lead to 6-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, PI pitcher Celina Marchan seemed to feed off the team offensive production and made quick work of the Lady Kats by closing out the inning with two strikeouts.
Neither team scored in the sixth inning as the Lady Tarpons continued to hold on to their 6-1 lead.
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