BY BRYAN RAMOS | STAFF WRITER
SAN JUAN — PSJA High has spent the last couple days welcoming teams from Alice, Corpus Christi and Del Rio to play on its field as part of the Mike Rodriguez Tournament. But when one lines up across the Bears, the opposition soon comes to learns how protective PSJA is of its home turf.
“We shouldn’t lose at home. This is our field and we should defend it,” shortstop Ariben Gutierrez said.
The Bears did just that on Day 2 of the ECISD All-American Classic as they knocked off Weslaco High 9-1 at home in a rematch of last year’s first round playoff matchup.
Gutierrez, although bothered by a shoulder, blasted a three-run home run in the bottom of the second inning — his first bomb of his career — to give PSJA a commanding lead early.
“We always play well here and they call it their home turf,” PSJA High coach Marco Guajardo said. “Especially against a good team like Weslaco, they got a good team and these guys knew it. I told them we were going to have to jump on them. Diego threw a hell of a game and kept them off-balance. Then our sticks came alive.”
Diego Villescas had the ball in his hand against the Panthers, and he delivered for the Bears, striking out seven batters in six innings and surrendering just one run. Villescas also gave himself some run support as he drove in an RBI at the plate, as did Devon DeLeon, Santiago Palomin, Jacob Sanchez and Juan Zambrano.
“We should expect this every game from us,” Gutierrez said. “The caliber of lineup we have is not seen very often. We’re very good. Just, sometimes, we have our off-games.”
The win over Weslaco High and an 11-2 win over Corpus Christi Ray improved the Bears’ record to 4-0 in the Mike Rodriguez Tournament after beating Del Rio 1-0 and Corpus Christi Moody 2-1 on Day 1 of action.
“I’m telling these guys, ‘You’ve got to understand the caliber of these teams we’re playing,’” Guajardo said. “It’s just going to help us later on in the playoffs and in district, because McHi is tough, Mission is tough, everybody’s tough. But these games are going to prepare us for that.”
PSJA High’s next game is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday as it continues District 30-6A action against rival PSJA North on the road.