BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
EDCOUCH — The last time the Edcouch-Elsa YellowJackets made it to the area round, none of the players on this year’s team had been born.
In 1998, the team won a district title and made it to the second round of playoffs. The program hadn’t accomplished either feat since, until this year’s team accomplished both in coach Ryan Garza’s first year.
“It’s a step in the process for the program,” Garza said. “We are rebuilding our baseball program. It had never been anything near what we accomplished this year. This team did a great job of setting the tone for the teams to come. I think we just set the tone back to baseball to be a powerhouse for the next couple of years.”
All rides must come to an end, and this historic YellowJackets’ season closed out on Saturday when Edcouch-Elsa lost Game 2, 5-0, in an area round series against Corpus Christi Ray.
E-E lost 2-1 on Friday in Game 1 in Corpus Christi.
Saturday, the crowd was loud, the team was fired up and senior pitcher Andy Rodriguez was ready to pitch a gem.
“Andy did an excellent job,” Garza said. “In that second inning, things didn’t go our way. We got a little bloop single, little ball hits off the turf and bounces over our second baseman. Andy came in and did phenomenal. We couldn’t have asked for him to do any better. He threw his heart out his last game in his senior year.”
In the second, Rodriguez walked Ray senior left fielder Alex Aitken to lead off the inning. He got two quick outs and was almost out of the woods. Then, sophomore center fielder Ronald Vasquez worked the count to 2-0 before hitting the aforementioned bloop single. Sophomore second baseman Brandon Rodriguez followed with a grounder that took a giant hop out into the outfield, scoring Aitken. Junior right fielder Russell Sigler followed a double that scored the two runners.
Ray senior pitcher Nick Loftin settled in and started mowing down batters. Loftin finished with a complete game shutout, fanning five batters while allowing five hits and a walk.
“He threw strikes. He let the defense work. He competed when he needed to,” Ray coach Orlando Ruiz said. “Overall, he did a great job.”
After the painful second inning, Rodriguez was eager to keep his team in the game. In the third, he picked it up a notch, setting the Texans down in order on 11 pitches.
“I had to come out here and do what I do,” Rodriguez said. “I just had to go at them. Coach said to go after them, and I had to.”
“Andy did awesome,” senior catcher Steve Perez said. “He went out there and threw strikes, and that’s what matters.”
The biggest problem for the ’Jackets was Loftin. They couldn’t create any offense against him, and even if they did make solid contact, the Texans defense was up for the task.
Perez was the only E-E player who found much success. His third-inning double was the YellowJackets’ only extra-base hit. He finished the game 2 for 3, but also popped out to first base during a crucial at-bat in the fifth with Rodriguez at first.
Ray added a run in the sixth and another in the seventh to put the game out of reach.
Edcouch-Elsa will lose seven seniors, including Perez and Rodriguez, but the remaining players have gained valuable experience from this year.
“I think this season will set the standards high for the team,” Rodriguez said. “They can come out good and strong and finish off the same way. Basically, we can overcome anything if we work for it.”