By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Six members from Brownsville schools are among the Rio Grande Valley’s best baseball players.
The players from Brownsville Veterans Memorial, Porter and Hanna led their teams to a postseason berth and each earned a spot on the 2015 RGVSports.com All-Valley Baseball Team.
The Chargers’ senior second baseman Javier Pena was a first-team selection and junior teammates pitcher Fred Villarreal, shortstop David Anaya and third baseman Noel Solis were named to the second team, as were Hanna’s senior second baseman Roy Sauceda and Porter’s sophomore outfielder Felix Ledesma.
“Javier is a big loss to us, he’s a great infielder with smooth hands,” Brownsville Veterans coach Joey Benavides said. “Without a doubt I believed he deserved a spot. He worked hard, was always coachable, always wanted to know if he was doing something wrong or if he could do something to help the team.
“He’s a type of kid that’s humble, very respectful, just a great kid all around.”
Pena hit .383 on the year; of his 31 hits, seven were doubles, he knocked in eight runs and scored 28 more while striking out just four times as the Chargers leadoff hitter.
The other three members of Brownsville Veterans return next season and hope to repeat as district champions and advance further than the second round of the playoffs.
“This group of juniors has been playing together since they were little, so I think the comfortable level of them playing together is great,” Benavides said. “They have such a chemistry together and in baseball it comes together as one.”
Each put up great numbers this season. Villarreal was 8-0 this season and had two saves in 49 innings pitched. He boasted an ERA of just 0.71 and struck out 81 batters. Anaya led the team with a .421 average, had 32 hits including four home runs, drove in 25, scored 23 runs and picked up the District 32-6A MVP. Solis hit .385, had 25 hits, drove in 15 and scored 10 runs on the year.
“Each of them has a unique thing, Fred is an amazing pitcher, and he hits the ball really well,” Benavides said. “David is that silent killer. He’s not very vocal, but he has a great glove and a great stick, he’s a silent assassin. Noel is the talker of the group and the one that brings everybody up. A very, very hard worker.
“These guys are going to be a big part next year.”
Ledesma was the lone representative for Porter. The sophomore hit .432, had 20 RBIs and scored 15 runs for the District 32-5A champions and was named the district newcomer of the year. The Cowboys’ outfielder will be expected to take a bigger role on the team next season.
“It’s great, I know he was the district newcomer of the year, but it’s nice to be recognized by the other newspapers around the Valley,” Porter coach Barton Bickerton said. “He deserved it, the kid is a great ball player. He’s going to have to be one of the leaders of the team next year … he’s going to have to fill some big shoes.
“He’s a smart kid already, really baseball suave. So that’s good, that’s going to take him a long way.”
The Golden Eagles’ Sauceda also earned a spot on the second team. The senior hit .444 with nine RBIs and scored 13 runs, but more importantly provided solid defense up the middle and his leadership led Hanna to another postseason berth, the seventh straight for the Eagles.
“That’s awesome news, I’m happy for him,” Hanna coach Eddie Garcia said. “Roy is a hard worker, he doesn’t say much, he just plays, he talks with his play. His junior year he made the transition from second to shortstop and he flourished for us. He was a big key for a good season last year and this year he stepped up; he was a key player to our success. We have a lot of talent in the Valley and just to be on that team represents the program which makes me feel pretty good.
“Just to be recognized makes it even sweeter, hopefully it will continue next year and in the following years.”
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.