BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Ever since Jaime Perez took over as the Edinburg Vela baseball coach, the SaberCats have been scratching and clawing to reach the top of the mountain.
They finally got there on Tuesday, beating PSJA High 8-1 to clinch the program’s first ever District 31-6A title.
“This was a long time coming,” Perez said. “This senior class is my first senior class. They were here at ground zero. … It’s a great feeling, and it’s fun.”
Vela got it done on Tuesday the way it has all year, behind the dominance of senior Aaron Galvan. Galvan went 6 1/3 innings, giving up just one run on six hits with 10 strikeouts.
“(Before the game) I felt loose,” Galvan said. “I felt confident. I was ready to go.”
“If you can throw your breaking ball for a strike, especially early in the count, and then get your fastball over for a strike, then you have them guessing,” Perez said. “That changes the game, because they can’t just sit one pitch. He was throwing the breaking balls at all different angles, and then he was pumping the fastball in at 89-90 (mph) all game. That’s pretty darn good.”
Vela got the party started in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs against PSJA junior pitcher Cheke Marroquin. A throwing error brought in the speedy center fielder Matthew de la Cruz. Senior Joey Recio hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Galvan, who reached on the error.
De la Cruz finished 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs. Galvan was 1 for 3 with a walk and two runs scored. Junior right fielder Nico Rodriguez was 1 for 2 with two walks and a run. Junior shortstop Ramsey Amador was 1 for 2 with a run scored and a stolen base.
In the bottom of the fifth, de la Cruz drove in the last two runs with an inside-the-park home run. De la Cruz drove the ball to the wall, and he scored standing on the throw home.
Galvan has been with Vela for four years, and he has been waiting his whole career for the payoff he got on Tuesday.
“It felt great,” Galvan said. “I promised, last year, that I would come in this year, and work as hard as I could to bring a district title to this school. I told the team, ‘We will be district champs at the end of this year.’ They rode with me, and now we are here. They are my brothers, and I couldn’t be happier to be sharing this with them.”
Vela faced a valiant foe in PSJA High. The Bears threw their ace, Marroquin, but Vela had a plan to counter.
“We intended to come in, be aggressive and get Cheke off his rhythm early,” junior right fielder Nico Rodriguez said.
The Bears notched a hit in each of the first three innings, but they couldn’t capitalize, as Galvan erased baserunners. In the top of the fifth, Galvan walked the leadoff batter but used his picturesque pickoff move to get the runner out. The second batter also walked, but Galvan repeated the process. Even though the Bears knew the pickoff was coming, Galvan still got the out.
The game didn’t go by without any bad blood. In the first, Amador was batting after the opening run scored. Marroquin went inside, and Amador voiced his displeasure. The next pitch nailed him in the leg. Tempers calmed after the at-bat, but the pot was simmering. In the fourth, Amador was up again, and he again was pitched inside, eventually striking out. As Vela took the field for the fifth, the teams exchanged word. Amador threw a ball that was judged to be in the direction of a PSJA High player. The umpires took a long time to discuss the situation. Amador had already been warned, so when the incident occurred, the umpires said they were forced to eject him.
“Ramsey is a competitor,” Galvan said. “He just has to know when to cool it. We were up 6-1 at the time. He just has to cool it.”
After the game, Vela had a celebration replete with a Gatorade bath for Perez.
“It felt great,” junior third baseman Yulean Torrellas said. “Especially to do this with these guys and these coaches, it feels great. For me to be a part of this is amazing.”
Vela plays its final game of the regular season at 7 p.m. Friday at Edinburg Economedes.
“(Tuesday) was huge for us,” Perez said. “We are not satisfied. We are not done. We have high expectations here, and we don’t want to stop playing any time soon.”