DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
SAN JUAN — The 24 hours that turned Friday into Saturday could have seemed like 48 for La Joya Palmview baseball coach Rick Garcia.
After the Lobos beat Weslaco High 4-2 in Game 1 of their Class 6A best-of-three area playoff series on Thursday, Garcia saw Game 2 postponed less than an hour before first pitch Friday because of rain muddying Weslaco High’s field. And then he sat and waited Saturday, with the first pitch changing from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and then finally 3 p.m.
All the while, his main concern was Game 2 starting pitcher Ernesto Garza.
“Ernesto was very confident (Friday) when I spoke to him with the understanding that we were going to play that night,” Garcia said “We didn’t (play). And then I was leery because of the times (Saturday).
“I was telling him, ‘Don’t lose focus, mijo.’ I told him if he didn’t lose focus, we’d be OK. That’s what happened. He didn’t lose focus and we’re OK.”
The senior right-hander was better than OK. Garza surrendered two runs on nine hits and struck out nine in nine innings as Palmview outlasted Weslaco High 3-2 in an extra-inning affair at C.V. Cain Field that pushed the Lobos into a regional quarterfinal rematch against Laredo Alexander next week.
Garza only walked one Panther, and that was intentionally.
“We were locating the ball perfectly and they weren’t adjusting to it,” Garza said. “I felt like I was throwing harder as the game went on.”
With the game tied 2-2 in the ninth, Palmview courtesy runner Andrew Puente scored from third when Panthers leftfielder Ulises Hernandez dropped a fly-ball with one out. In the bottom of the frame, a sacrifice bunt and two groundouts rendered a lead-off single by Weslaco’s Kevin Cantu meaningless.
“It’s what we expected between these two teams,” Weslaco coach Eddie Serna said. “Good pitching. Clutch hitting. That’s the way it goes.”
Though Garza starred, so did his counterpart Freddy Barrera. Barrera, too, went all nine innings and gave up three runs (one earned) on eight hits while striking out nine and walking two.
“His curveball is real deceiving,” said Garza, who went 1-for-4 with a double. “He kept throwing it and throwing it and we just kept chasing. Luckily we did get the hits we needed. All we needed was clutch hitting.”
While the game had plenty of opportunities for both teams, the momentum-changer came in the bottom of the eighth inning with the game tied 2-2.
Weslaco (17-7) put two runners on with one out when Garcia chose to intentionally walk No. 6 hitter Tyler Lopez, who was 1-for-3 up to that point. That loaded the bases.
Fortunately for the Lobos, Garza made sure Garcia’s bold move worked, forcing consecutive groundouts to end the frame and keep the game moving.
“We had double-play depth down the middle and were prepared to throw home automatically from the corners if the ball got there,” Garcia said of his decision to intentionally walk Lopez. “(Lopez) was 1-for-3 and the next kid (Jason McClenahan) was 1-for-3 as well, and twice he had hit to our second baseman. We were hoping he’d do the same thing and we’d get out of the inning. But (Garza) struck them out.
“Either way, those kids were going to have to beat us.”
Garcia’s decision kept the door open for Palmview (21-4-1) in the ninth. After Carlos Puente walked, and then was pinch-run for by Andrew Puente, Leo Perez flew out to right field.
But Garcia made another big move, pinch-hitting Mario Hinojosa for Ismael Martinez in the No. 9 slot. Hinojosa delivered, bombing a fastball to the center field wall to advance Andrew Puente from first to third and set up the go-ahead run.
“I’m pretty nervous, honestly,” said Hinojosa, who also came off the bench to tie Game 2 of Palmview’s bi-district series against Laredo United South last weekend. “But Coach has faith in me and that’s what I like. He knows I’m going to get him a hit.
“(Barrera) was throwing a lot of curveballs and he stayed high. He just so happened to throw me a fastball inside.”
And finally, the Lobos could relax.
“We just wanted to win,” Garza said. “This is our last ride as seniors. Who doesn’t want to advance in the playoffs? We go to the third round of the playoffs again just like last year and hopefully we keep going.”