WESLACO — Weslaco East baseball has turned a corner and grown into a power in District 32-5A over the past two seasons.
Junior pitcher and shortstop Alex Solis played a major role in the Wildcats’ turnaround that has resulted in back-to-back district titles and the first two playoff berths in program history.
After a lights-out season on the mound and at the plate, Solis is The Monitor’s 2022 All-Area Baseball Pitcher of the Year.
“That was the standard we set last year during the season and it’s something we talked about to make sure we defend our title and hopefully we can do it again next year,” Solis said. “It’s been exciting being part of this team since my freshman year, being able to establish the new version of this East baseball program and keeping it going, winning district and making it to the area round.”
He helped lead Weslaco East to a program-best 26-6 mark overall and a 13-1 finish in district competition. The Wildcats also earned their first playoff series win with a bi-district sweep over McAllen High in Round 1 of the postseason before falling to Corpus Christi Veterans in the area round.
Solis posted a 10-1 record as a starter with a 1.60 ERA and racked up 113 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .194 batting average and 14 earned runs off 46 hits and 27 walks. He toyed with batters to pile over 100 strikeouts this season by using his four-pitch arsenal — a two-seam fastball, a four-seam fastball, a circle change and slider.
A solid start on the mound begins the day prior for Solis, however.
“First, the day before I’m making sure I’m eating right, getting all my sleep, and especially making sure all my school stuff is in so I have no worries about being able to perform on the field, being able to warm up right and get your mind ready for the game,” he said. “I like it because I get to set the tone of the game, get the game going at my speed or slow the game down if I need to and give my defense a break. If we need three up, three down, we got that. We got defense, we got pitching, we got hitting.”
As dangerous as Solis on the mound for the Wildcats, he was equally dynamic in the batter’s box and at shortstop. He hit .436 with 44 hits, 44 runs, 22 RBIs, eight doubles, four triples, one home run and had a team-high .533 on-base percentage.
Solis is part of Weslaco East’s soon-to-be senior core who has their sights set on a three-peat in District 32-5A and advancing past the area round of the playoffs for the first time in program history.
“The expectations are even higher now that we’re maturing, getting older. Now that we’re all returning seniors we’re aiming to do better than last year,” he said. “We have to set the standard even higher for next year and keep the program going for the next group of incoming freshmen.”
