BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — Midway through the fourth inning of Friday night’s Region IV-5A championship game, Sharyland Pioneer pitcher Evan Maldonado didn’t so much hit a rough spot as he just wasn’t on point after throwing several straight balls off-target.
Even with a 5-1 lead, Pioneer junior catcher Angel Nuñez was concerned enough to call timeout, walking out to the mound at UTRGV Baseball Stadium with a capacity crowd on hand to talk with Maldonado for a minute.
“I told him, ‘Hey, we’ve gone this far. We can’t go out like this. We’ve worked so hard on this, so just keep grinding and let’s start off with a strike on this next guy,’” Nuñez said.
Pioneer came out of the inning unscathed, perhaps in part with Nuñez’s help, and went on to trounce Sharyland High 11-1, winning Game 2 and the series to earn a berth in the UIL Class 5A state baseball tournament. Maldonado said Nuñez’s pep talk helped him refocus and settle down.
Nuñez, who wears a large color-coded, game-info wristband, much like a quarterback in football, has been on point all year. He’s managed perhaps the best three-man pitching rotation in the region, committed a measly three errors in 41 games played, batted over .300 and is a team leader and the glue that holds the Diamondbacks together.
He also leads the team’s scouting efforts. Pioneer coach Casey Smith said Nuñez is the first one to get to practice and the last one to leave, calling him a “coach on the field.” Those efforts paid dividends as Nuñez has been credited by Smith and his pitchers for calling a flawless series.
“We knew coming in that Sharyland was going to be one of the toughest teams we’ve faced, and they really are a tough bunch,” Nuñez said. “As a catcher, you have to know how hitters are. You have to know how they stand in the box. What they can and cannot hit.”
Friday night, the Rattlers couldn’t hit much and Maldonado was solid, allowing no earned runs, just four hits and two walks in five innings with one strikeout. The previous night, although Sharyland was able to add three runs during the ninth, Pioneer pitcher Jacob Rosales limited the potent Rattlers to three runs in six innings and struck out six — again with Nuñez behind the plate.
“He does everything right,” said Maldonado, a junior University of Houston commit. “He does everything you want a catcher to do. He’s one of the best catchers I’ve ever seen.”