PICTURED: Liz Torrez, Tiana Tuinei and Heather Ward each played large roles in helping Harbor win its first softball game.
Harbor was not about to hang its head, not in its softball opener.
Despite losing three players this week and despite giving up a daunting three runs in the fifth inning Wednesday, Harbor remained resilient.
The Seahawks rallied for a 4-3 nonconference win over visiting Pierce to break in their new program.
Tiana Tuinei hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to score Patricia Galvan with the winning run.
Harbor fell behind, 3-1, in the fifth inning, but tied it in the bottom half of the inning with two-out RBI singles by Christine Barba and Nikki Uranga.
"The girls clutched up," Harbor co-coach Jesse Espinoza said. "They gave up those three runs in the fifth, but they showed a lot of heart to come back like they did."
Harbor learned this week it will have to play without expected stars Irma Espinoza and Dovie Tuli because they did not have enough units to qualify. Roxy Terrazas also got a job and will not be with Harbor this season.
Espinoza moved Liz Torrez to catcher, April Garcia to first base and tried to make the best of the situation.
"This is nothing new to me. This kind of stuff happens to me all the time at Banning," Espinoza said. "So I made a catcher in two days, I made a first baseman in two days and moved some other people around. I've been there, done that."
Pitcher Heather Ward kept Harbor within striking distance, allowing three runs with seven hits, five strikeouts and four walks.
"I had no idea what to expect going in," Espinoza said. "The girls have worked hard. This was nine months in the making. I kicked their butt for nine months, and it worked out.
"Our side was definitely packed. We had people standing along the fence down the lnies. We even had some of our people on their side."
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