 By Brian Argabright [email protected]
Weather was the only thing that could slow down the Del Rio Rams baseball team at this year’s Border Olympics. The annual tournament held in Laredo was cut short by poor weather conditions. According to the Laredo Morning Times, temperatures were in the low 30’s-high 40’s for Saturday’s games with a 25 percent chance of participation. The official cancellation notice came from Border Olympics Facebook page Friday. The post read as follows: “Due to the oncoming inclement weather and the projected forecast for Saturday, the 4th guaranteed baseball game scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, has been CANCELLED. Sorry for any inconvenience.” Up to that point, the Rams had been unbeaten in tournament play. Del Rio was initially supposed to start the tournament against Corpus Christi Moody on Thursday, but Moody announced it would not attend the tournament due to the poor weather. That delayed Del Rio’s debut until the Rams faced Laredo Nixon. The Rams took a 1-0 lead against the Mustangs in the first inning after Matt Sandoval singled and drove in JR Bustamante. Nixon tied the game in the bottom of the first inning, but Del Rio reclaimed the lead in the top of the third inning after Adan Villarreal stole third and later scored on a single to right field by Luis Faz. Del Rio broke the game open in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Diego Rosales scored on a single to right by Mike Soto to make it a 3-1 lead. Villarreal followed with a single of his own that scored CJ Mireles to make it a 4-1 game. Soto made it 5-1 after he scored on a single by Alex Richter. Soto wasn’t done. He drove in Sandoval and Jesse Mojica with a double to left in the top of the fifth to help make the final 7-1 in favor of Del Rio. Richter picked up the win for Del Rio. He allowed three hits over five innings of work, walking two and striking out two. Game two of the tournament for Del Rio found the Rams taking on Edinburg North. Del Rio jumped all over North, scoring 14 runs in four innings as the Rams picked up their second win the Border Olympics, 14-0. Richter got the scoring going in the first with a sacrifice fly to right that brought in Villarreal with Del Rio’s first run on the game. Del Rio scored five runs in the second to begin the rout. Tyler Madera scored on a groundout by Juan Delgado to make it 2-0. After Aydin Torres and Bustamante reached base, Villarreal cleared the bases with a single to right to push the Del Rio lead to 4-0. Del Rio then took advantage of Edinburg’s pitching struggles, scoring on a passed ball and an error by the North catcher to make it a 6-0 game. Del Rio scored six more runs in the top of the third to put Edinburg in a 12-0 hole. Tres McCrea started the scoring with a run off a single by Bustamante. Delgado eventually scored on an error on the play to make the score 8-0. Bustamante scored on a double by Torres to put Del Rio ahead 9-0. Torres would eventually score on another catcher’s error to give the Rams a 10-0 advantage. An error by Edinburg’s left fielder on a fly ball struck by Sandoval allowed Madera and Soto to score and make the score 12-0. Del Rio closed out its scoring in the top of the fourth with two more runs. Mireles scored on a single by Bustamante and Richter drew a bases load walk to score Torres and complete Del Rio’s 14-0 win. Aaron Sanchez and Frank Buitron combined to shut down Edinburg North. Each player threw two innings, allowing just one hit and one walk between the two of them while they combined to strike out eight batters. This weekend the Rams travel to the SA/Comal Classic Tournament that begins Thursday. Del Rio’s next home game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 when the Rams host San Antonio Cornerstone at 7 p.m. at The Bank & Trust Ram Field. |
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