RGVSPORTS.COM
A series of weather delays, and even a couple of site changes, didn’t prevent Edinburg High from proceeding with Game 2 of its best-of-three regional semifinal series against San Antonio Johnson on Saturday.
Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the end result wasn’t much different from the previous night — a 12-2 run-rule loss in five innings to close the curtains on Edinburg’s season.
The Region IV-6A battle was originally scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. Saturday at UTPA before it was moved to PSJA High at 5:30 p.m. After lightning struck a couple of times, and rained flooded the field, the game was moved to La Feria for a 9:15 p.m. start.
That’s where the Bobcats took the field, down 1-0 in the series. They tried their hand with several pitchers but struggled against a Johnson team whose bats proved too powerful, sweeping the series 2-0 and advancing to the regional finals.
“You can’t take anything away from them,” Edinburg coach Robert Valdez said. “They’re a very hot team right now. They’re clicking, and we had our opportunities.
“They hit the ball well and we didn’t have an answer for their sticks.”
Edinburg never led, trailing 2-0 at the end of two innings, before taking a 5-2 deficit after three innings.
Johnson took an 8-2 lead into the fifth inning before adding on four more runs to close it out.
“It’s been a good ride,” said Valdez, whose team went further than any other in the program in 59 years. “They showed dedication and resiliency all night, even though the scoreboard doesn’t show how hard they fought. I know as a program they raised the bar for the expectations for years to come.”