Heather Ruiz slams Eagle Pass Lady Eagles past Uvalde Lobos 13-11 with Three Homeruns & 8 RBIs in Softball Season Opener
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2017
Eagle Pass High School Lady Eagles standout junior shortstop Heather Ruiz slammed the Lady Eagles past the potent Uvalde High School Lobos with three Homeruns and eight RBIs in the 2017 Softball Season Opener, rallying the Lady Eagles to a 13-11 win on Tuesday, February 14, 2017, at Uvalde, Texas.
Lady Eagle Heather Ruiz went 4 for 5 in the game establishing a new Eagle Pass Lady Eagles softball record of hitting three Homeruns in one game with eight RBIs to lead the Lady Eagles to victory over the Uvalde Lobos. Ruiz belted a solo homerun in the top of the first inning to give the Lady Eagles a brief 1-0 lead in the game followed by a three run blast in the top of the fifth inning and the third round-tripper in the top of the sixth inning with one aboard to give the Lady Eagles the lead for the first time in the game.
Joining Heather Ruiz in the Homerun department was Lady Eagles standout catcher Brooke Diaz with a solo blast in the top of the fifth inning while Lorelei Morales contributed with a strong 3 for 5 hitting with two RBIs in the game.
Lady Eagles starting pitcher Kaitlin Galvan had an uncharacteristic game with the Lady Lobos hitting off of her pitches together with nine Lady Eagles defensive errors to cause Head Coach Oscar Ruiz to call upon reserve and relief pitcher Leenette Krezdorn to stop the potent Lady Lobos hitters and earn the win for the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Eagles had to rally from a 7-2 deficit in the in the top of the fifth inning with four runs, including three on Heather Ruiz’s homerun and another run on Brooke Díaz’s solo homerun, to narrow the score 7-6 and finally rallying in the top of the sixth inning with four more runs, including a two run homerun by Heather Ruiz, to take a 10-9 lead in the game, which the Lady Eagles never relinquished. The Lady Eagles tallied three more runs in the top of the seventh inning while the defense finally settled down to limit the Lady Lobos to only two runs to preserve the 13-11 Lady Eagles season opener win.
The Eagle Pass Lady Eagles will now play in the highly competitive Smithson Valley Lady Rangers Invitational Softball Tournament during February 17-18, 2017, facing among the toughest softball teams in the State of Texas.