TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
WESLACO — Junior pitcher Jonathan Castillo struck out seven and surrendered just six hits Friday night as the defensive-minded Weslaco High Panthers evened their Class 6A bi-district series with a 2-1 victory over the visiting PSJA High Bears.
The Panthers’ defense was outstanding despite a couple miscues, and first baseman Seth Sanchez’s spectacular sliding catch for the third out in the top of the seventh turned back a dangerous PSJA High rally that scored a run and put another runner in scoring position.
The best-of-three Class 6A bi-district series is now tied at 1, and Game 3 is set for 1 p.m. today at PSJA High.
“We expected something like this. We knew they were good defensively, and we’ve been good defensively and with our pitching,” Weslaco coach Eddie Serna said. “He (Castillo) was on point with everything we wanted to throw at them. The way played it out, it was just perfect.”
Castillo wasn’t perfect on the stat sheet, but he had strong command of three pitches that confounded Bears’ batters and kept them off-balance most of the night.
Through the first six innings of the game, the right-hander faced just five batters more than the minimum. Meanwhile, his defense came through just about any time the Bears made contact with the ball, including a key double play in the sixth inning to stifle another attempted rally.
Even with the stellar play, Weslaco hung on to a precarious 2-0 lead entering the top of the seventh inning. Rico Avila hit solo homer in the second, and Mario Leal notched a run-scoring double in the fifth.
PSJA’s Vicente Castillo started the final-inning rally with a deep single to left. Next, Jonathan Castillo walked Trey Guajardo. Then, DH Pablo Treviño struck out, and a substitute runner for Guajardo was tagged out at first base after taking too big of a lead.
But the inning was still alive as Jonathan Castillo began missing his spots. He gave up a double to Joel Pecina and a walk to Cesar Cantu, the inning’s fifth batter. That brought Thursday’s offensive hero, Juan Zambrano, to the plate.
On Jonathan Castillo’s fourth pitch, Zambrano popped a shallow foul toward the visiting dugout. That forced first baseman Sanchez to sprint toward the ball and make a sliding catch just before it hit the ground, recording the third out.
“I didn’t even see that last play, but I saw him slide, and I heard the roar of the crowd, so I figured we caught it,” Serna said.
Jonathan Castillo (8-1) said he was not tired at the end of the contest, but added that he maybe lost focus some because he was excited. He was, however, happy with his performance and the end result.
“My slider was working for me. It kept away from the batters. They were swinging and missing, and I kept the ball low,” Castillo said. “That was my key to victory.”
And Panthers defense?
“I believe in my team and my defense,” he said. “The double play? That’s a pitcher’s best friend right there.”