Lady Rockets scrimmage Ruidoso with new head coach

"I only had the program for about four weeks,” Gilette said. “So, I put them in the weight room during that time, boosting their confidence and getting them back to where they need to be. The most important thing I want to do this preseason is to get them to have fun again.”

Despite the slow start, the Lady Rockets had a six-run effort with help from Ruidoso’s errors in the bottom of the second inning. From the third inning onward, both teams warmed up defensively and began to shut each other down. Eventually, both coaches agreed to move on to the next game.

Goddard senior Andrea Manzanares was part of that six-RBI run and she said her teammates’ enthusiasm fed her to contribute to the “chain reaction.” Manzanares said that confidence also translated into the defensive end.

“It’s always good to stay up and to have confidence in your teammates,” Manzanares said. “Trust is a huge component in playing softball because if you don’t trust them, you can’t win.”

Goddard junior pitcher Gabriella Flores said it was a rough start.

“Things happen but our mistakes are turned into lessons,” Flores said. “So when we’re coming down, we just try to talk to everybody and keep positivity.”

The Lady Rockets opened the season on Friday with a loss in the Black and Gold Slugfest to the host Hobbs Lady Eagles, 6-0. Goddard continued play on Saturday in the tournament with a game against Valencia. A final score for that game was not available by press time. See a future edition of the Roswell Daily Record for scores from Saturday.

Sports reporter Blynn Juliano Beltran can be reached at 575-622-7710, ext. 304, or sports@rdrnews.com.