DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
HIDALGO — Hidalgo baseball coach Karlos Carrasco wasn’t asking for much.
When Carrasco attended the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association convention in January in Waco, the third-year Pirates coach was interested where, or if, his team would be ranked in Class 4A in the state. Returning all nine starters from a team that went 27-12 last season and was one step from the state tournament should at least earn a top-10 spot, right? Carrasco hoped so, but wasn’t sure.
So when Carrasco arrived to the convention, a gathering of high school baseball coaches from all over the state, and read through, from bottom on up, the organization’s preseason top 10 poll for Class 4A, you can imagine his surprise when his Hidalgo team was the last school he read.
It is believed to be the first time a Valley athletics program, in any sport, has been ranked No. 1 in a state preseason poll.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Carrasco said. “My emotions were all over the place. I didn’t know whether to cry, scream or jump in joy. As a head coach, that’s everybody’s goal. To be ranked No. 1 in the state.”
The Pirates, who open the season at home tonight versus Edinburg Economedes, have a pair of aces in seniors Oscar Noguera (10-3 in 2014) and Allan Wilburn (9-1). They have defense and hitting in Mike Alvarez, Kike Mendoza and All-Valley Newcomer of the Year Dylan Dougherty.
They have depth, throwing as many as six pitchers during scrimmages over the last couple of weeks.
“We have a lot of kids coming back that now have experience playing in all those big games,” Dougherty said. “We’re going to go even further than what we did last year.”
The preseason poll ranking is determined by John Adair, poll director for Classes 2A-4A for THSBCA and head coach at Elkhart. In early December, Adair sends out an information packet to all head coaches in the state. Over the next six weeks or so, he collects that information and then determines the poll for each of the classes he is responsible for.
Adair said he specifically looks at the success a team had the year before and the number of players returning.
“They’ve got good pitching, and having that success with that many returners, compared to other teams in that class in the state, I felt like they were the team to beat,” Adair said of Hidalgo.
Location also plays a part. While deep south Texas fields competitive baseball teams, it is not as prominent as southeast or north Texas. Hidalgo is just one of two teams from its region, La Vernia the other, to be ranked in the preseason top 10 poll.
“You look at the regions, number of teams that have come out in the past, and it all plays into it,” Adair said. “But all that history and tradition really doesn’t mean anything for the upcoming season.
“The bottom line is you get what you feel, at that point, is the very best team. And we felt Hidalgo is that team.”
Hidalgo will rely upon its pitching and defense this season, though its hitting is what has stood out during preseason scrimmages. The Pirates know they’re marked men, and they’ve practiced and scrimmaged liked it.
Carrasco said last year he had to “baby them,” guiding players through everything from warm-up stretches to bullpen work. This year, he’s been more lenient, hoping his six seniors take control of the team.
So far, so good.
“To be the first No. 1 team from the Valley, it’s incredible. It’s an amazing feeling,” Noguera said. “But for us, it’s just a number. We have to work to prove that we’re the best. We’ve got to stay hungry.”
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TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION 2015 PRESEASON POLLS
Class 6A
Flower Mound Marcus
Pearland
Atascocita
Laredo Alexander
Flower Mound
Dallas Jesuit
Coppell
Corpus Christi Carroll
Southlake Carroll
Smithson Valley
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Langham Creek, Clear Creek, Arlington Martin, Round Rock, Cy Ranch, and San Antonio Reagan.
Class 5A
College Station
CC Calallen
Hallsville
Cleburne
Rockwall- Heath
Brenham
Medina Valley
Arlington Heights
Victoria East
George Ranch
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Prosper, CC Moody, Aledo, Corsicana, Canyon, and Kingwood Park
Class 4A
Hidalgo
Iowa Park
Huffman Hargrove
Pleasant Grove
Robinson
Argyle
La Vernia
Andrews
Bridge City
Abilene Wylie
Class 3A
Bishop
Sunnyvale
West
Hallettsville
Palmer
Banquete
Idalo
Troy
Central Heights
Kirbyville
Class 2A
Douglas
Flatonia
Bosqueville
Center Point
Weimar
Refugio
Price Carlisle
Kenedy
Booker
Centerville