Last week belonged to La Joya High and Weslaco High’s softball programs as the two squared off in a third round playoff series featuring Valley vs. Valley teams.
One week later, it’s the boys’ turn to step into the spotlight.
La Joya (21-14-1) and Weslaco (25-9-1) baseball are set to collide in a three-game Region IV-6A quarterfinal playoff series Thursday through Saturday.
Game 1 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Weslaco High School. Game 2 is set for 7:30 p.m. at La Joya High School. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Weslaco High School.
The two teams met during tournament play on March 9 with La Joya winning 5-4 in six innings.
Now, a possible three games will determine whether the Coyotes or Panthers fight on in the state playoffs.
PANTHERS BREAK THROUGH
Weslaco High has been knocking on the door of the third round for years. This season, the Panthers kicked that door down by winning a Game 3 thriller at home last Saturday against Eagle Pass by a score of 9-8, winning on a walk-off bases loaded RBI single by freshman John Reyna.
“This team, some of these guys that are seniors and juniors, they’ve been around for a while on varsity and we’ve been close to the third round before, it just hasn’t happened,” first-year head coach JJ Garcia said. “This year, we were able to punch through and get here. These guys are ready to go. This is what we set our sights on at the beginning of the year and one of them was to make a deep playoff run.”
Now, Weslaco is preparing to play in its first regional quarterfinal playoff series since 2007.
“We’ve been putting in lots of work, just the second team in Weslaco Panther baseball history to make it to Round 3. It means a lot to everybody in the community,” senior Ryan Everitt said.
The Panthers have been consistent all season using a blend of senior leadership and young pitching.
Seniors Everitt and Stone Gomez are both four-year lettermen who contributed early in their careers for the Panthers. Now, they’re the leaders the rest of the dugout looks to to steer the ship.
“I thought we had good enough teams to get to Round 3, but we finally put the pieces together and got it done. It feels good to make history,” Gomez said. “It’s going to be a battle for sure. We’ve played (La Joya) the past four years and they’ve always been a good team. They have good pitchers, good batters, but so do we. It’s going to be a good series.”
COYOTES BACK IN ROUND 3
The La Joya Coyotes are set to make their third regional quarterfinal playoff appearance in four seasons, a tough run to pull off for any program at any level.
“We have a few guys that were freshmen that first year we made it to the third round, now they’re seniors. They may not have gotten a lot of playing time that first year, but they got that experience of the playoff atmosphere and now they’re hungry,” La Joya head coach Mario Flores said.
The Coyotes finished as runner-up in District 31-6A and opened the playoffs with a bi-district sweep against San Benito. In Round 2, La Joya lost Game 1 of its series against San Antonio Brennan before storming back to take Games 2 and 3 to advance.
“We came together as a team to battle through that first game loss. We got the bats hot and were able to run-rule them in Game 3,” La Joya junior Hunter Morales said.
For La Joya’s seniors, their experience of putting together deep postseason runs has been key and will be again against Weslaco. They also know what it takes to win a regional quarterfinal playoff series featuring Valley vs. Valley teams after defeating Edinburg Vela in the third round of the 2022 state playoffs to earn their spot in the regional semifinals.
“I’ve been in this program all four years and it feels amazing to be back. A lot of people doubted us from the start, but we’re here now,” senior Lucas Zambrano said. “The atmosphere is amazing. It’s going to be fun for both communities. It’s going to be a good series.”
