BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Under the Friday night lights, McAllen High sophomore Aaron Nixon toed the rubber, his signature eye black accenting his stare as he looked for the sign.
Nixon proceeded to mow down the La Joya High Coyotes with ruthless precision.
Nixon pitched a complete game one-hitter as the Bulldogs (20-1-1, 7-0) beat the Coyotes 7-0 in District 30-6A action at Ted Uhlaender Field at McAllen High.
“That is the best he has looked over the last two years,” McHi skipper Eliseo Pompa said of Nixon. “Last year, he was our closer. This year, he started more games, and it was a strong showing today.”
Nixon (4-1) started the game off with nine straight strikes for three punch-outs.
The Bulldogs got Nixon a run in the bottom half, and Nixon was off to the races.
He struck out 15 batters over seven innings, and he did it in 68 pitches.
“It’s always fun to watch Aaron,” sophomore outfielder Jacob Vela said. “He can dominate just about anybody he faces.”
“At the end of the game, I was like, ‘Dad, how many Ks did I have?’” Nixon said. His father replied 15. “I was like ‘Wow.’ It surprised me, because they are a great team. I love competing against them. They have great hitters. It was a great game.”
The Coyotes hung around, thanks in large part to stranded base runners for McHi.
In the bottom of the fourth, McHi’s bats jolted to life.
Hector Garcia led off the inning with a triple to the wall. The Bulldogs recorded two outs with Garcia still at third, but a fresh face made a familiar play for McHi fans.
Vela, who transferred from McAllen Memorial, produced the single that finally drove Garcia home.
“It felt really good, because it was important to get that run in,” Vela said. “I just went up there looking for something to drive, and I got it.”
Junior outfielder Rigo Moreno belted a scoreboard-smashing two-run home run to bring in Vela.
“To me, that was the whole key to the game,” Pompa said of Vela’s hit. “Because that allows (Moreno) to come up and hit that homer, which really got us going.”
McHi carried the momentum into the fifth, when senior first baseman Abanny Garcia led off with a double. Senior catcher Nate Quintanilla was robbed of a hit on a fantastic catch in left field before senior outfielder Robbie Maldonado walked. Freshman third baseman Chris Bernal atoned for earlier runners left on base by driving in Abanny Garcia, and junior Gibby Mata drove in Maldonado to push the Bulldogs lead to 6-0.
Nixon scored the Bulldogs’ seventh run in the sixth. He was driven in by Quintanilla’s single.
Nixon carried the no-hitter into the third before La Joya senior Carlos De Leon legged out an infield single.
“I felt good, because my teammates always have my back,” Nixon said. “They don’t put me in a lot of pressure situations, because they are always running up the score, and it’s just a lot of fun playing with these guys, because they are like family.”
The Bulldogs’ chemistry is high right now, as evidenced by Vela’s warm welcome to the team.
“Once I got here, (my teammates) were family already,” Vela said. “They accepted me and loved me. It’s as if I had been here since freshman year.”
“I’ve known him forever,” Nixon said. “We’ve known each other since we were like 8. Right when he got here, he didn’t have to adjust to anything. As soon as he got here, we all had that chemistry right away.”
The Bulldogs are united, and they have been unstoppable this season.
“Our lineup is insane,” Nixon said. “Everybody can hit it out of the park. Everybody is hitting for average. The chemistry is insane right now, and it is just fun to be a part of.”