ROMA — The Edinburg Vela SaberCats broke out the brooms Friday night by defeating Laredo United South 6-4 at Roma High School to sweep their Region IV-6A area round best-of-three playoff series.
The SaberCats (21-4, 13-3) are now moving on to the regional quarterfinals for a Round 3 matchup against the Los Fresnos Falcons.
“I told these guys at the beginning of the year that this group is special. The continuity there, you can’t replace it,” Edinburg Vela head baseball coach Jaime Perez said. “It’s just a special group.”
Edinburg Vela’s bats got going early as they raced out to a 6-0 lead after three innings.
“We came out with passion and we all trusted in each other. We played for each other and came out hitting the ball,” senior right fielder Ivan Mendoza said.
Mendoza, Jayden Martinez, Carlos Peña and Matthew Perez each drove in runs, and two more scored on a fielding error in center. All six of Vela’s runs came with two outs on the board.
“We’re feeling good and feeling confident. This is what we’ve worked for and we want to keep it going,” Peña said.
On the mound, Martinez and Jake Dufner teamed up to take down Laredo United South. The freshman Martinez started the game and shut down the Panthers early on. During the fourth inning, however, United South began to rally.
That’s when the sophomore Dufner entered and proceeded to pitch four innings allowing four hits, no runs while striking out six.
“We knew we got to them early and we had a chance. Our freshman (Martinez) on the mound, he gave us a chance and then Jake Dufner came in and he closed the door,” senior catcher Jaime Perez Jr. said. “These young guys grew up and came through for the team.”
The SaberCats are now headed to Round 3 for an RGV vs. RGV matchup against Los Fresnos. The Falcons defeated San Antonio Brennan in two games.
Game details between the SaberCats and Falcons are to be determined.
