DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
Donna High senior Trey Ramirez is hitting .587 with 20 RBIs and four doubles while going 4-3 with a 1.32 ERA on the mound.
Those numbers may cause some people to raise their eyebrows, but someone who is not surprised is Trey’s dad and Redskins coach Joey Ramirez.
“I did expect this for him,” Joey said. “I see it every day at home, when he’s hitting off the tee or in the cages on his own.”
Trey hit better than .500 last season as well, but where his growth has come is as a pitcher. Coming into this season, Trey was slated to be the Redskins’ No. 2 arm. But Joey said Trey has excelled and put in the same work on the bump as he does at the plate.
Trey slowed his delivery and changed his mechanics. His back hip was staying behind on his motion, so Joey had Trey change to where he is more square to the plate now, resulting in better location and control.
Indeed, Trey has 65 strikeouts to 27 walks in 42.1 innings. In the process, Trey has emerged as a leader for a Donna High (10-9, 5-6 District 32-5A) team in the thick of the district playoff race. Trey and younger brother Jeremy, a defensive specialist as a backstop, have the Redskins scraping for a postseason berth in dad’s third year as a head coach.
The Redskins are a game back of Mercedes, Edcouch-Elsa and Brownsville Porter — each boasting 6-5 district records — for third place in district with three games left in the regular season.
“We expected to be in the hunt, but I didn’t expect some of these teams to be in the mix like us,” Joey said. “Hat’s off to them and to this district. It’s been a heck of a lot of work.”
PERSEVERING
Hidalgo has been without All-Valley player Dylan Dougherty for most of this season. He just returned from a leg injury on Tuesday and has also dealt with a shoulder injury.
The offense has been up and down, mostly down, and the pitching had been inconsistent until recently. But what’s encouraging for coach Karlos Carrasco is his team has won 10 consecutive games and in line for another District 32-4A title despite the adversity.
“I’m very happy with where we stand right now,” Carrasco said.
Defense and progress on the pitching staff have carried the Pirates (16-7, 10-1 32-4A) lately. Hidalgo has finally settled into a rotation of Samuel Jimenez, Raul Ortiz and Luis Rosales.
Early in the season, Pirates pitching accounted for 30-40 pitches per inning. It was spotty, at best. Now, however, Hidalgo throwers are throwing less than 20 pitches per inning on average.
“Our pitching at the beginning was unpredictable,” Carrasco said. “Now they’re consistently throwing strikes.”
The offense remains a work in progress as Carrasco has his team taking 300-400 swings per day in the cages, working on hitting off-speed and junk stuff. Dougherty’s bat and speed along the basepaths have been sorely missed. There have been productive hitters in the lineup, like Benji Coronado, Danny Espinoza and Mike Alvarez, but not enough.
The good news is pitching and defense are making up for it. Carrasco said these Pirates also have the best unity he’s seen in his four years at the helm.
“It’s taking us over the top,” Carrasco said. “These kids play for each other, they like each other and the bonding is there. It’s healthy for our team. It’s good to see and I enjoy being with them every day. No matter what we go through, they’re making my job easy.”
RANKED
Mission Veterans Memorial is the only Rio Grande Valley baseball team ranked in state. The Patriots are ranked fifth in Class 5A in the state by Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Mission Vets is 20-3 and one of seven south Texas teams ranked in state at all. The other teams are San Antonio Johnson, Calallen, Alamo Heights, Robstown, Bishop and Refugio.
In Class 5A, Calallen is ranked No. 1.