By Brian Argabright
Del Rio’s first baseball tournament of the year started well, but ended with the Rams dropping their last three games.
The Rams competed in the Northside ISD Baseball Tournament Thursday through Saturday and faced MacArthur, Churchill, Clark and Harlan. Del Rio is now 2-3 on the season.
Del Rio 8, MacArthur 0
The Rams opened the tournament Thursday with an 8-0 shutout of MacArthur.
Del Rio took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Jose Borrego and Matt Mendez each scored on fielder’s choice at-bats by Sebas Patiño and Will Cooper and Alex Rodriguez scored on a passed ball.
The lead moved to 4-0 in the bottom of the third when Patiño hammered a doubled to centerfield and drove home Mendez.
Del Rio closed out its scoring in the bottom of the fifth inning with four runs.
The first run came after Rodriguez singled and later scored on a bases loaded walk. Borrego, who’d reached on an error, scored on a balk to make the score 6-0. Cooper then made it 7-0 with a single that scored Caden George.
The Rams capped their scoring with a Ricky Limon single that plated Aiden Natividad.
Rodriguez and Mario Soto teamed up to hold MacArthur to just three hits. Rodriguez, who picked up the win, also struck out four batters.
Churchill 6, Rams 1
Del Rio’s only run against Churchill came in the bottom of the sixth.
Mendez started Del Rio’s at-bat with a double to left. Two batters later, Jon Barragan hit a ground ball that Churchill couldn’t handle, and Mendez scored on the error.
Rodriguez, Borrego, Mendez, Patiño and Barragan each had one hit for the Rams.
Clark 10, Rams 1
Del Rio capped its games Friday with a tough 10-1 loss to Clark.
The Rams scored their only run in the top of the fourth. After Patiño doubled, Cooper was hit by a pitch. One wild pitch later, Barragan hit a ground ball that scored Ricky Martinez.
Del Rio had only four hits in the game. Patiño had two hits while Mendez and Cooper each had one.
Harlan 5, Rams 4
Saturday morning, Del Rio and Harlan started with the Rams in control until Harlan rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth to snag the win.
The Rams struck first in the top of the first as Rodriguez walked and scored on a double by Mendez. After the Rams loaded the bases, Cooper hit a fielder’s choice that plated Borrego, who had also walked, to make it 2-0 Del Rio.
Harlan tied the game in the bottom of the first, but the Rams reclaimed the lead in the top of the second as Soto, who’d entered the game as courtesy runner for Josh Adams, scored on a Rodriguez double to right.
The Rams added another run in the top of the top of the third after Martinez, who’d entered the game as courtesy runner for Cooper, scored on a wild pitch with the bases loaded.
Del Rio held a 4-2 lead into the fifth inning. That’s when Harlan began to rally.
The Hawks made it 4-3 on an RBI single. One batter later, a fielder’s choice plated another run to tie the game at 4-4. They then scored the winning run on a wild pitch.
Del Rio will return to action Thursday, March 4, when they travel to compete in the San Antonio Southwest Tournament at Southwest High School.
