BY BRYAN RAMOS | STAFF WRITER
The opening round of the UIL baseball state playoffs delivered drama on the diamond across Texas, and especially in the Rio Grande Valley. From multiple top seeds having their seasons come to an end at the hands of a four-seed to a 14-inning marathon, the bi-district round had it all.
Those that remain standing shift their attention to the area round, where RGV fans are gifted a blockbuster matchup between local blue bloods, Class 5A going toe-to-toe with the best in state, and one last Valley team standing in 4A.
CLASS 6A
Three advanced to the area round in Class 6A Region IV, with one team pulling a major upset last weekend.
The baseball gods have blessed South Texas hardball fans with a second round three-game series between the Edinburg Vela SaberCats (24-4-2, 12-0) and McAllen High Bulldogs (25-8-1, 10-4), two teams stacked from top to bottom.
Both are coming off sweeps in the bi-district round as the SaberCats sent Harlingen South home with a 2-0 series win (8-4, 4-2), while the Bulldogs dispatched Eagle Pass 2-0 (2-1 in 11 innings, 5-2) in Laredo. The potential series-opening pitching matchup between Vela’s Kansas State commit, Nico Rodriguez, and McAllen’s University of Texas commit, Aaron Nixon, is a preview of what we could see in the Big 12’s future.
The three-game series will be played at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg beginning 7 p.m. Friday, with Game 2 set for 1 p.m. and Game 3, if necessary, 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2.
Edinburg North (13-16-1, 5-7) is the third 6A team to move on and perhaps the most surprising as the fourth-seeded Cougars knocked off the district champions from 32-6A Brownsville Rivera in a three-game series this past weekend. The Cougars didn’t let it go three, however, as they got the job done in two to shock the Raiders.
North’s Kenneth Jobe threw a complete game two-hitter in the series opener for a 5-1 Cougars win. In Game 2, the Cougars rallied from a 6-4 deficit to take a 9-7 win over the Raiders to seal the upset.
Edinburg North now moves onto the area round for a matchup with Laredo Alexander (22-11, 9-3) which went into the 14th inning of Game 3 against PSJA North before winning 4-3 to advance. All three games between the Cougars and Bulldogs will be played at Roma High School beginning 7 p.m. Friday and picking back up at 2 p.m. Saturday.
CLASS 5A
The most dominant bi-district performance by one group belonged to 31-5A as Sharyland High, Sharyland Pioneer, Rio Grande City and La Joya Palmview outscored their opening round 32-5A opponents by a whopping 48-0 in five games. In the area round, however, the challenge gets more difficult as they each face teams ranked in the top 12 in the state, according to the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Poll on April 30.
The 31-5A district champion Sharyland Rattlers (28-4, 12-2) eliminated Edcouch-Elsa in a one-game playoff 17-0 on Thursday as pitchers Andy Lozano and Ivan Alvarez teamed up for the shutout, while first baseman Martin Vazquez drove home four RBIs on three hits.
The Rattlers will face Corpus Christi King (26-8-1, 12-4) in a three-game series in the area round with Game 1 scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sharyland High School. Games 2 and 3 will shift to Cabaniss Field in Corpus Christi at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks advanced to the area round for the second straight year by locking down Brownsville Lopez for a 10-0 win. Pitcher Jacob Rosales picked up the win, his seventh of the year, by holding Lopez to two hits.
Now, Sharyland Pioneer (29-5, 11-3) will square off against the No.2 team in the state, Corpus Christi Veterans (32-3-1, 15-1), for a three-game series. Alice High School will host all three games beginning 7 p.m Friday, with Games 2 and 3 slated for 2 p.m. Saturday.
Rio Grande City was the only 5A RGV team to play a three-game series, but they just needed two to take care of Valley View with wins of 8-0 and 11-0. No. 1 and 2 pitchers Osbaldo Perez and Mike Ramos shutout the Tigers to lead the RGC Rattlers into the area round.
The Rattlers (22-9-1, 10-4) are gearing up for another three-game series, this time against No. 9-ranked Gregory-Portland (29-2, 11-1). The Rattlers will travel to Gregory-Portland High School for Game 1 on Friday, but will host Game 2 at Rio Grande City High School, and Game 3 if necessary, beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday.
La Joya Palmview (20-11, 9-5) was another four-seed to knock off a district champion as the Lobos shutdown Brownsville Veterans 2-0 in a one-game playoff at Palmview High School on Friday night. Ace Jonathan Martinez and the Palmview defense led the way as they blanked the potent-Chargers offense, giving the Lobos their first win on their home field at La Joya Palmview High school.
The Lobos find themselves in another one-game playoff in the second round against the No. 6-ranked Calallen Wildcats (27-4-1, 11-1). With Martinez on the mound, Palmview will look to pull off another upset.
Palmview will face Calallen at 7:30 p.m. at the neutral site of the Laredo Student Activity Complex on Friday.
CLASS 4A
The Hidalgo Pirates are the last team standing of the RGV’s 4A playoff qualifiers after knocking off Ingleside in three games in the bi-district round.
Hidalgo (14-13, 10-4) lost the series opener in extras 2-1, but bounced back 3-1 to take Game 2 and the decisive Game 3 in dominant fashion by a score of 10-0. Pitchers Sammy Salazar and Jonathan Treviño picked up the wins for the Pirates, while Raul Robles led Hidalgo with three RBIs in the series finale.
Hidalgo will take on Pleasanton (10-14, 4-6) in the second round with all three games at Falfurrias High School.