BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
LAREDO — McAllen High junior pitcher Abanny Garcia didn’t find out he would be pitching Game 2 until midday on Friday.
Garcia had started Game 1 of the first two series. Many pitchers may have been affected by the late change, but if anything Abanny was emboldened by it. He dominated in a complete game as McAllen High beat Laredo Alexander 13-1 on Saturday at Uni-Trade Stadium in the Class 6A Region IV quarterfinal.
“They told me a little late, but I was ready either way,” Garcia said.
Garcia went all seven, striking out 8, while allowing one walk, three hits and a run.
“This game was Abanny being Abanny,” junior catcher Nate Quintanilla said. “He’s been throwing the ball really good. So, today he kept it the same as he’s been doing, hitting his spots and doing really good.”
In the fourth inning Garcia noticed an unusual number on the scoreboard. Under the hits column for Alexander the screen showed a zero.
“As a pitcher you don’t really want to think about because then you will jinx it,” Garcia said. “I wasn’t really thinking about it and then they got that one hit, unfortunately.”
Garcia gave up a walk and then a hit in the fifth losing the perfect game and then the no-hitter all in the span of two batters. He struck out two to finish off the inning and preserve the shutout for the moment.
Garcia worked around an error in the sixth to keep Alexander off the scoreboard again. In the top of the seventh freshman Aaron Nixon headed towards the bullpen to start warming up, but Garcia was busy politicking in the dugout.
“He didn’t want to come out,” McAllen High coach Eliseo Pompa said. “We had to keep track of his pitches. We kind of kept looking at his pitch count and trying to decide if he could finish it.”
“I wanted that game,” Garcia added. “I wanted the shutout, but I started getting a little tired. I got runners on base, and they scored one, unfortunately. I just kept my poise and I got the three outs.”
McHi’s offense was poetic, scoring two runs in the second, four in the fourth and seven in the seventh.
“I felt pumped up,” Quintanilla said. “We all felt pumped up. It’s really fun. It’s a good feeling to have and to just keep it going.”
It all started with a leadoff walk from Quintanilla. His brother Roy Quintanilla hit a single and sophomore Rigo Moreno followed with a single to load the bases. For the second game in a row, senior Keola Zamora was hit by a pitch. Friday’s allowed him to eventually come around and score a crucial run. Saturday’s hit-by-pitch forced in a second run for McHi.
“As a pitcher, it always gives you confidence when you get a run or two up on the board,” Garcia said.
In the fourth junior Robbie Maldonado led off with a single. Zamora singled, scoring Maldonado. Senior Victor Valdez singled and Garcia doubled, bringing in Zamora and Valdez. Garcia’s double forced Alexander to pull junior starter Andres Santos. Junior Albert Gonzalez came on in relief, but Nixon hit a single on his first pitch, driving in Garcia’s courtesy runner, senior Andrew Sanchez.
In the seventh it was a free-for-all. McHi had 12 batters come to the plate to combine for five hits and four walks leading to seven runs. Alexander tried two pitching changes in the inning, but nothing could slow the McHi offense.
McHi will face SA Churchill in the Class 6A regional semifinals. Churchill won Game 1, 3-1, on Friday. Lake Travis responded with a 5-2 win in Game 2 on Saturday. Game 3 followed and Churchill won 14-2.
The pitching swap worked out well for McHi this round, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Pompa is going to keep things the same.
“The switch turned out good for us, but we just have to look at who we play and what they have been doing in the last three weeks in the playoffs,” Pompa said.