HARLINGEN — In the bottom of the seventh inning with the score tied 7-7, all Harlingen South’s Edar Arreola could think about was, “put the ball in play.”
Arreola took that mentality one step further, hitting the game-winning walk-off RBI single to give the Hawks a thrilling 8-7 victory over Weslaco High on Tuesday evening at Harlingen Field.
The Hawks came back from two deficits to earn their fourth win of the District 32-6A season.
“These guys work so hard all year long to battle to the last pitch and that’s what we did today,” said Harlingen South assistant coach Matthew Benavides. “We know that it just takes one pitch to change the complexion of the game and that’s what we did today.
“Our approach is to come in the fourth, fifth, six and seventh innings because those are the innings you want to win.”
Despite the loss, it was the Panthers (6-6) who struck first in the game with a pair of runs off of Harlingen South ace pitcher Mitch Stone. Luis Longoria, who finished the game 3 for 4 with two RBIs, singled to center field allowing teammate Axel Camarena, who had just finished stealing third, to cross the plate, giving Weslaco an early 1-0 lead.
A few pitches later Nate Campos added another run after scoring on a passed ball.
With a 2-0 lead, the Panthers continued to widen the gap in the top of the third inning after Longoria hit his second RBI single of the night. Longoria hit a ground ball that got past a diving third baseman to bring in Matt Calderon for a 3-0 lead.
Perhaps in one of the most important innings of the game, with bases loaded, no outs, and pressure beginning to mount on Harlingen South, Stone sat three consecutive batters on strikeouts to close the third inning, allowing just one run.
The Hawks made things interesting in the bottom of the fifth.
With bases loaded and one out, Chad Roberts smashed a ball to deep right field for a two-run double to bring in Mando Martinez and David Torres.
But the Hawks weren’t finished scoring as Robert Mejia got behind another ball and sent it clean to the right field wall bringing in Nick Reasor and Roberts, tying the score at 4-4.
Harlingen South would add runs from Dylan Carreon, Nick Muniz (two runs), and Trey Vento in the remainder of the game.
The Hawks have Weslaco East and BrownsvilleRivera Remaining on the schedule.
For the Panthers, the loss puts a dent into their playoff hopes with both San Benito and Los Fresnos remaining on the schedule.
