BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville Veterans senior pitcher Carlos Garza struck out eight batters in a 6-1 win over Rio Grande City in Game 1 of their Region IV-5A area round playoff series Thursday at Brownsville Veterans High School.
The eight Ks give Garza the program record for strikeouts in a single season with 126, but more importantly, the Chargers (24-4-2) are now in control of their second round playoff series with a 1-0 lead over the Rattlers (17-14-1).
Game 2 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Rio Grande City High School. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday at McAllen Rowe High School.
“I’m just proud of the guys. We had a little bit of adversity, but Carlos is a dog on the mound,” Brownsville Veterans head coach Adam Vera said. “He just broke our school record for strikeouts in a season. We’re proud of him. He dominated on the mound. We were pretty efficient offensively. Their guy did a great job. They got a good team and Carlos limited them and we took advantage when we could.”
Garza surrendered just one run off four hits and three walks while striking out eight in a complete game performance.
“We were ready tonight,” Garza said. “It feels good to have that record.”
Garza helped his cause at the plate with a 2-for-3 day with one RBI and one run. Oscar Rodriguez finished 2-for-4 with two RBI. Jose Jimenez went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run, and Fonzy Bueno went 1-for-2 with one RBI, one run and one walk.
Both of Rodriguez’s RBI were on hard hit balls to center field resulting in a double and triple. The Chargers tallied 10 hits as a team.
“I think we’ve been ready for this since the beginning of the season. I think all the boys bought it today and we’re looking to go 2-0 tomorrow,” Rodriguez said. “We had the right approach at the plate the whole time. The only way to win a game is hitting the ball and I think we did a good job.”
Rattlers’ pitcher Hiram Lopez went six innings and allowed six runs, two earned, off 10 hits and two walks while striking out six.
Rio Grande City scored its lone run on a solo shot to left field by Aaron Benavidez in the top of the third inning to make it a 2-1 game.
AREA ROUNDUP
CLASS 6A
LOS FRESNOS 7, SAN ANTONIO O’CONNOR 1: At Los Fresnos, the Falcons did their damage in the third and fifth innings with all seven runs coming in two innings.
Aiden Douglas led the Falcons with 2-for-3 hitting and two RBI. Alejandro Rodriguez, Julian Gutierrrez, Patricio Alvarado and Joshua Alvear all had one RBI.
Los Fresnos pitcher Joaquin Cavazos put together a complete game effort with six hits, one earned run, no walks and five strikeouts.
Game 2 between Los Fresnos (27-6-1) and O’Connor (19-11-2) is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Northside ISD Complex in San Antonio
WESLACO HIGH 7, EAGLE PASS 1: At Weslaco, the Panthers won on their home turf against the Eagles to take a 1-0 series lead in their Class 6A area round best-of-three matchup Thursday at Weslaco High School.
Stone Gomez went 2-for-2 with three RBI, two walks and one run to lead the Panthers. Ryan Everitt drove in two on 1-for-3 hitting with one walk, and Isaiah Garza hit a solo home run.
Weslaco pitcher John Reyna pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run off three hits and five walks while striking out four. Julien Casares pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with one strikeout.
Game 2 between the Panthers (24-8-1) and Eagles (14-17-2) is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday in Eagle Pass.
CLASS 5A
McALLEN HIGH 7, LA JOYA PALMVIEW 0: At McAllen, Jaime Palacios pitched a complete game shutout to lead the Bulldogs over the Lobos for a 1-0 series lead in their best-of-three area round matchup.
McHi’s ace Palacios surrendered just three hits and two walks while striking out three across seven innings.
The Bulldogs were led by Austin Ramos who went 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs. Eric Alonzo finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Luis Esquivel went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Game 2 between the Bulldogs (20-12) and Lobos (27-4) is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at La Joya Palmview High School in Mission.
McALLEN MEMORIAL 4, CORPUS CHRISTI VETERANS 1: At Corpus Christi, the Mustangs went on the road and took down the Eagles in Game 1 of their best-of-three area round playoff series Thursday at Corpus Christi Veterans High School.
The Mustangs plated three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 4-0 lead late. Eloy Lozano and Daniel Flores had two hits apiece. Flores, Gael Aguirre and Jacob Sanchez had one RBI each.
Memorial pitcher David An struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings while allowing three hits and four walks to earn the win. Kane Coy picked up the save with 2/3 innings pitched with one strikeout.
Game 2 between the Mustangs (21-11) and Eagles (24-11) is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at McAllen Memorial High School.
CLASS 3A
LYFORD 6, GOLIAD 5: At Hebbronville, the Bulldogs held off the Tigers by one run to pull out the Game 1 win in their Class 3A best-of-three series.
Game 2 between Lyford (20-8) and Goliad is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Hebbronville High School.
