By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
A new year, a new coach, and a new tradition.
With a 5-3 win over PSJA High, Porter clinched the District 32-5A baseball title, its first under first-year coach Barton Bickerton, the longtime coach who has enjoyed success around the Rio Grande Valley, including at Sharyland High.
The Cowboys (16-5, 12-1 in district) dropped their district opener but have won 12 straight games, including a 5-2 win over the Bears a few weeks ago during the streak.
But with one game left in the district season, Porter and its coach have no thoughts about letting up.
“We don’t want to share the title,” Bickerton said. “We want to win it outright, I think we deserve to win it outright.”
Although not a easy game to end the season, Bickerton sees it as a chance to help get his team ready for the playoffs.
“It’s going to be a tough game at Mercedes,” he said. “It will be a good warmup for the playoffs because they’re one of the better teams in the district. Hopefully we won’t relax. I won’t let them relax. We need to get after it on Friday.”
Brownsville Veterans Memorial (19-1-2, 13-1) also clinched the District 32-6A title under first-year coach Joey Benavides.
The Chargers were dominant against district opponents this season, their only loss being a 7-5 setback against runner up Harlingen South (16-5, 11-3), and finished the season with three straight shutouts.
Hanna (14-7, 10-4) and San Benito (14-7, 9-5) also clinched postseason berths in 32-6A.
STREAK CONTINUES
With their third-place finish in District 32-6A, Hanna has now qualified for the postseason in seven straight years under Eddie Garcia.
The Golden Eagles were up and down defensively to start the season and at times looked like they would miss out on the playoffs this year.
Hanna picked up the slack on defense and increased its offensive production to win four straight to finish the season, including a 4-2 road victory against Harlingen South.
TARPONS CLINCH
Port Isabel (14-7, 8-5) also clinched a spot in the playoffs for District 32-4A.
The Tarpons got the bats going during a 12-2, five-inning win against Progreso on Tuesday.
Port Isabel finishes the district season Friday against La Feria, with which they are tied in the standings. The winner of that game will get the third seed, and the loser will claim the fourth seed in 32-4A.
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.