BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
RIO GRANDE CITY — Rio Grande City senior ace Nando Sepulveda was a freshman the last time the Rattlers made the playoffs. Even then, they lost in the bi-district round.
On Saturday, Rio Grande City beat Brownsville Veterans 11-1 in five innings. The win gave the Rattlers (18-8, 12-4) a 2-0 series win after they blew out the Chargers 11-1 in six innings during Game 1.
“It was tremendous,” Rio Grande City coach Roque Cortinas said. “Our pitching was lights out the whole weekend. Everything was pretty good — hitting. All-around great job.”
Sepulveda cruised in Game 1, but opponents have assumed all year that the Rattlers only have one pitcher worth worrying about.
Sophomore Osvaldo Perez proved the Rattlers have more depth in their arsenal. He went all five innings, striking out five while allowing only one run on three hits.
“He did great,” Sepulveda said. “He’s been throwing a lot of strikes. His curveball is good, his changeup has been working good. Hopefully it keeps on going, to the next round.”
“This game proves that we don’t only rely on one guy,” Perez added.
The party got started early for the Rattlers. Senior designated hitter Saul Garcia led off the second inning with a solo home run. Junior center fielder Jeremy Gorena followed with a single and came around to score to give the Rattlers a 2-0 lead.
That’s when Perez started to click on the mound. He said his curveball was narrowly missing early, but in the third, he started throwing it for strikes, allowing him to find his groove and cruise to the win.
In the Rattlers’ half of the third, Sepulveda hit a double and came around to score when Juan Carlos Perez hit a double in the next at-bat.
The Rattlers put the game away in the fourth. They made a leadoff walk hurt the Chargers and kept the momentum going, scoring six runs on four hits and three walks in the inning.
“We try to have an approach every time we are up, especially with lefties at the beginning,” Cortinas said. “We were trying to pull the ball a little bit. They were throwing us away, so we started staying back, hit it up the middle and got hot. We are a close group — a lot of leadership. Everybody backs each other up. Once we get going, it’s hard to stop us.”
The Chargers (14-9, 11-3) tried to mount a rally in the fifth. Second baseman Gilbert Rodriguez and right fielder Jorge Rodriguez led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Ricky Peña then drew a walk to load the bases. Osvaldo Perez struck out leadoff hitter Aaron Recio on three pitches before center fielder Josh Alaniz followed with a hard hit up the middle. Osvaldo Perez snagged the ball and threw to the catcher to retire the lead runner, and the catcher turned and threw to first to complete the double play.
The Rattlers just needed to close out the game in the bottom of the fifth. Designated hitter Javi Garcia was up first, and he was hit by the pitch. Left fielder Jason Perez reached on an error, and third baseman Memo Chapa hit a single to drive in Javi Garcia and push the lead to 10-1. Second baseman Jose Gazca followed, and he was struck by a pitch, as well. Second baseman Javi Gonzalez delivered the walk-off single.
“It’s unbelievable,” Cortinas said. “We haven’t made the playoffs here in about three years, so all these seniors that have been here, it’s a good taste for them, and we are excited. Just making it, then being able to advance, it’s awesome. I’m happy for my boys.”
Rio Grande City will face Corpus Christi King in the area round. King defeated San Antonio Harlandale by scores of 9-1 and 12-1 to advance.
“I’m really excited,” Sepulveda said. “We are just waiting for next week, so we can kick some ass.”