DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Three balks that produced runs. An overthrow from the shortstop to first baseman that should have been a routine groundout. Dropped balls. Passed balls.
This is life these days for Sharyland High’s baseball team as it played its fourth game of the season Friday morning. With a roster consisting of five underclassmen, it is a rebuild third-year coach Junior Martinez has never seen in his 13 years with the tradition-rich program.
“We’re finding out a lot of things right now, seeing who we can depend on and what guys can do under pressure,” Martinez said. “I have a lot of guys that have not participated in a varsity baseball game until this year.
“Whether they’re freshmen or guys who got moved up from junior varsity … it’s a bunch of guys new to this level of play.”
The Rattlers fell 6-0 to Brownsville Hanna (3-1) to begin the second day of the McAllen/Mission Tournament at Sharyland High. The game was stopped after five innings because of a two-hour time limit for tournament games.
Sharyland High, which is 2-2 with wins over San Benito and Mission High, started two freshmen — four are expected to see a lot of at-bats this season — and has four players who have played a varsity game. The consequence is what happened Friday.
Against Hanna, four of the runs the Rattlers surrendered came by errors. Sharyland pitching failed to register a strikeout, and its two pitchers, sophomore starter Javier Medina and freshman reliever Eduardo Salinas, balked. Medina balked twice.
All three balks took place with a runner on third base, allowing that runner to advance home each time because of the error.
“It’s a new experience for most of us,” said Salinas, who hit eighth in the order and pitched the final three innings. “We’ve been training really hard, but nothing gets us prepared like the games do. We know we’re being depended upon, and hopefully all the hard work pays off.”
This time last year, guys like Salinas, Juan Lopez (who led the Rattlers with two hits as the No. 9 hitter Friday) and lead-off hitter Yulean Torrellas were playing junior high baseball. Even the team’s No. 1 pitcher, junior Michael Cera, did not play a varsity game before Monday’s 1-0 win at San Benito.
“I like what they’ve shown, they’re just young,” said senior Rodrigo Medina, one of the four Rattlers with varsity time. “But they’re competing, and that’s what we’re trying to show them. Every at-bat, every throw, every pitch. Compete.”
The rabid youth movement is a byproduct of the school’s split with Sharyland Pioneer, which went into effect two years ago. Martinez said school enrollment went from 3,200 to 1,600. He had 38 players in his baseball class this year. In previous years, Martinez had at least 75.
“The pool is a lot smaller to choose from,” Martinez said. “It’s just different.”
The Rattlers’ youngsters talk a good game. They emphasize learning from veterans like Medina, Jeff Adame, Jorge Longoria and Vicente Contreras. They talk about the importance of listening to coaches and paying attention.
“We’re excited,” Salinas said. “We’re all obviously new to this and we just want to earn our spots. We may be young and new, but we’re fighting to prove something.”
And the fight has its share of hard times.
“It can be frustrating for us, because the guys who have played varsity are way ahead and more along than us,” Torrellas said. “They want to help us, but since we’re just starting it’s frustrating that it’s not that easy to catch up with them. They’ve been playing 15, 16 years, and we’ve been playing 10, 12 years.
“It’s hard to keep up, but we know we’ll get there one day.”
After Friday morning’s loss, Martinez talked about the compromising situation with the hand he’s dealt. It’s not a hand he does not welcome, however.
The enthusiasm and energy is fresh around the program. While it may not breed consistent positive results right away, it allows for a desired rebirth.
“When you’re blessed with talent, you also have kids who want to do their own thing,” Martinez said. “These guys, the good thing is they listen and they do what they’re supposed to. If we can do the little things right, everything else will take care of itself.”