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The Rice Lady Raiders played in two district games last week and lost both but continued to lay the foundation for the program’s future.
The Lady Raiders lost their first game to Yoakum 17-0 on Tuesday, April 2, then lost to Edna 15-0 on Saturday, April 6, but despite the loss they are still in a good place in the grand scheme of things.
While their coaches continue to mold these athletes, they are making the strides necessary to bring their ball club to the next level. It starts with Abigail Hoelscher, she is the catcher for the team and typically they are the field generals, and she is no different.
She understands the game’s flow as well as anyone, and her teammates feed off. Hoelscher established herself as a leader this season for the Lady Raiders and her teammates are just drawn to her.
In a season like this it is all about making sure the team shows up and does all the little things right. Hoelscher knows that and just leads by example. But while Hoelscher has established herself as a leader, she’ll be the first to say she’s not working alone.
Ava Torres, Lexia Rangel and Taylor Eichelberger each have made huge strides and really stepped up on the mound for the Lady Raiders. While the numbers are not the best and they have given up runs their finding themselves on the mound and it will pay off for the Lady Raiders down the road.
In addition to that they also provide offense for the Lady Raiders as they are some of their more consistent hitters this season. Kasey and Paihe Eggeymeyer Valerie Lugo all took a step on both defense and offense and each game they play they have gotten more and more opportunity.
Sometimes they capitalize on those opportunities and sometimes they don’t but that is where Hoelscher comes back into play because she never lets any of her teammates get too down on themselves. That’s why the team follows her lead because she knows this season is what it is but, she knows how hard her teammates work and sees to it personally that their victories no matter how small are celebrated.
They’re building a culture in Rice and while the Lady Raiders remain winless this season, they are looking at the bigger picture and taking the right steps to work towards that larger goal they have in sight.
