JOURDANTON — McAllen Memorial spent the 2024 season proving doubters wrong, first by earning a playoff spot, then winning four consecutive postseason series to reach its first regional final in program history.
The Mustangs’ magical postseason run came to an end in an 8-0 loss in Game 2 of its Region IV-5A Final best-of-three series against Leander Rouse on Saturday at Jourdanton High School as the Raiders won the series 2-0.
McAllen Memorial finishes its season 26-16 overall, while Leander Rouse (34-9-1) advances to next week’s UIL Class 5A State Tournament in Round Rock.
“That’s a great team over there and we couldn’t afford to make many mistakes,” Memorial head coach Roque Cortinas said. “Bottom line is we didn’t hit the ball. Even though (Manuel) Villa did a great job keeping us close, we can’t win without any runs. We tip our hat to them; they’re a great team. It doesn’t take away from what we’ve done this year. I’m super proud of my boys for making history at our school.”
McAllen Memorial had its back against the wall entering Game 2 but senior right-handed pitcher and UTRGV signee Manuel Villa and the Mustangs’ defense had it going early.
Rouse finally broke through in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Oscar Salazar and tacked on another run on a passed ball in the bottom of the fourth.
Villa finished with two earned runs off six hits and one walk with two strikeouts in four innings.
The Raiders were just getting started, however, as they scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to make it an 8-0 game.
“Overall, I’m very proud of every single person here from the players to the coaches and trainers. We couldn’t have done it without everyone’s effort,” Villa said. “Even though we fell today against a very talented team and they deserve it, I’m proud of every single one of us and I’m not going to be sad because we did something that had never been done before and we should be proud of that.”
Leander Rouse had a senior-heavy squad and it showed across the two games of the series.
The Mustangs only mustered four hits in the series — two in Game 1 and another two in Game 2 on Saturday. Gael Aguirre hit a single to right field in the top of the third and Kane Coy doubled down the third base line in the top of the sixth.
While the season may be over, this McAllen Memorial baseball team changed the way they’re perceived by earning its spot in the playoffs and becoming the Rio Grande Valley’s last team standing in the 2024 postseason with a regional final appearance. With a junior and sophomore-heavy squad, the future is bright in Mustang Country.
“A lot of the core is back. You can kind of tell the young team we have, but I think this is going to be a tremendous step in helping them move forward and learning to play in games like these,” Cortinas said. “To come back next year and have that experience, I think that’s how you build a program.”
Photo Gallery: McAllen Memorial’s season comes to an end during Regional final series
