Tournament play fruitful for Fort Bend baseball, softball teams

By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM

The high school baseball season kicked off for many area teams last week with tournament play, while the area’s softball teams continued strong early starts.

Ridge Point went 4-1-1 at the Katy ISD Tournament Feb. 23-25 to kick off their defense of a Region III-6A title. Dallas Baptist commit JJ Kennett had an RBI double in a 1-0 win over Kerrville on Feb. 23, while Michael Huffman and Jack McKernan combined for the shutout in a 9-0 victory over Katy Taylor on Feb. 24.

Hightower also kicked off their season strong with a perfect weekend in winning all four games of the Jacob Edwards Memorial Classic tournament hosted at the school. Jeremy Payne had a double, a triple, and four RBIs for the Hurricanes (4-0) in a 13-1 win over Rosenberg Terry on Feb. 25, while Angel Gutierrez struck out eight in five innings of work on the mound. Gutierrez also hom- ered and drove in three runs at the plate in a 16-1 victory against Port Arthur Memorial on Feb. 23.

The Clements Rangers posted a 3-1 mark in the Katy ISD tournament last weekend. Griffin Culver, Fletcher Garcia, and Taylor Brown got two hits apiece during a 7-1 victory against Morton Ranch on Feb. 23, and Garcia drove home three runs as part of a 6-3 win over Katy Paetow to finish off the tournament on Feb. 25.

Bush went 2-2 at the Alief ISD tournament Feb. 23-25. Andrew Medina had three RBIs in a 14-3 win over Stafford on Feb. 25, while Charles Reyes and Allen Tovar had a pair of RBIs apiece. Dominic Medrano and Diego Perez had two hits apiece in a 5-4 win over Westfield on Feb. 23, and Reyes drove in two more runs.

The George Ranch Longhorns had a solid showing at the Cy-Fair ISD Tournament, finishing the weekend 2-2-1. Blake Beheler and Cody Ford each doubled and drove home a run in a 3-1 win over Jersey Village on

Feb. 24, while Lane Walton had three hits including a triple and three RBIs as part of the Longhorns’ 7-5 victory over Cy Falls on Feb. 25.

The Terry Rangers went 3-1 at the Jacob Edwards Memorial Tournament last week, improving to 4-1 on the season. Terry won games over Beaumont United (4-3) on Feb. 23 and swept Houston Austin (8-6) and Eisenhower (8-6) on Feb. 24 before falling 13-1 to Hightower on Feb. 25. Eric Garza struck out 11 batters over five innings against Beaumont United, while Matthew Eben had a pair of doubles and two RBIs in the win over Austin. Foster had a 3-2 weekend at the Katy ISD tournament, moving to 3-3 on the season. Coleman Briggs homered and drove in three runs for the Falcons in an 8-0 win over Katy Jordan on Feb. 23, and Julio Cuotto had three hits of his own and three pitchers combined on the shutout. Cuotto and Briggs also had two RBIs apiece in a 12-1 victory over Houston Lamar on Feb. 24, while Cuotto homered in a 5-4 win over Seven Lakes on Feb. 24.

In Class 4A action, the Needville Blue Jays won all four games at the Columbia Tournament last week to stay unbeaten on the young season. They outscored opponents 39-7 over the weekend, moving to 5-0 on the season. Cade Meuth led the offensive charge for Needville, going 8 for 12 on the tournament with four doubles and six RBIs and reaching base 12 total times. Meanwhile, Ryan Rodriguez had the standout pitching performance of the weekend, striking out seven and allowing just one run in 6.1 innings in a 13-1 win over host Columbia on Feb. 23. Stafford went 1-3 at the Alief Tournament, with the lone win coming in a 6-5 victory over Kempner on Feb. 24. Adrian Ponce had a triple and three RBIs for the Spartans against Kempner, while Bryce Williams also tripled and Zach Brown had a double.

Softball

In Class 6A action, Ridge Point’s Lady Panthers continued their strong start to the season with a 3-1 showing at the Allen Invitational Tournament, defeating Hebron, Allen, and Plano West before falling to Heritage in the final game to improve to 9-3 overall on the young season. the Elkins Lady Knights finished 2-2 at the Spring Branch ISD Tournament last weekend. Following losses to Houston Memorial and Katy Taylor on Feb. 24, the Lady Knights (5-6-1) bounced back with wins on day two against Northbrook (18-1) and (8-5) on Feb. 25.

The Bush Lady Broncos took home a win in their only game of the week, a 20-4 victory over Brookshire Royal on Feb. 24. Addison Walker reached base four times and had four RBIs for Bush (4-2) in the win, while Adrianna Rivera also had two hits and an RBI.

George Ranch picked up an 11-1 district win over Austin on Feb. 21 before going 1-2 at the Battle of the Best Tournament Feb. 23-25. Ariella Kolenko collected two hits and an RBI in a 9-0 victory over Danbury for the Lady

Longhorns (6-5), then had four more hits including a double and two RBIs in the win over Austin. Kamaryn Radford also had two doubles and drove home three runs against Austin, while Kathleen Dolan had two hits and two RBIs.

On the Class 5A front, the Foster Lady Falcons ran roughshod through the Haynie Spirit Tournament last weekend in winning all six games they played. Foster (8-3) was set to put its winning streak on the line with a Tuesday night clash against Randle.

In Class 4A action, Stafford’s Lady Spartans have now won seven straight games following wins over Hitchcock on Feb. 21 and Terry on Feb. 24. April Aviles and Aileen Aviles had three RBIs apiece in their 13-2 win over Hitchcock, while Arisa Lemelle double twice and scored four runs while driving in another. Lemelle was also strong in the circle against Hitchcock, striking out five batters and allowing just one earned run in five innings.