The Brownsville Rivera Raiders are riding into the area round of the Class 6A playoffs for the first time since 2004 and showed some grit in getting there.
The Raiders won a pair of one-run games in their three-game bi-district series against La Joya High to earn their spot in Round 2 and a postseason matchup against Eagle Pass.
Game 1 between Brownsville Rivera and Eagle Pass is set for 7 tonight at Veterans Field in Laredo. Game 2 is at 7 p.m. Friday, with Game 3, if necessary, scheduled for noon Saturday, both at Veterans Field in Laredo.
The Raiders’ last playoff appearance prior to this year came in 2019 as Rivera was bounced in the first round against Edinburg North.
Now the Raiders have a strong mix of senior leadership and talented underclassmen that has led to a 23-13 record on the season.
Senior Rolando Rivera, who delivered the walk-off hit against La Joya in Game 1 on Friday, leads the Raiders with a .413 batting average.
In Game 2, freshman Andres Rocha delivered the only run of the game with a solo blast. Senior Nathan Alvear pitched a complete-game shutout with four hits and three walks, striking out seven for the 1-0 victory.
Eagle Pass (23-9) enters the area round as the District 30-5A champion. The Eagles defeated San Antonio Harlan in three games to advance to Round 2 against Rivera.
After their two close playoff games against La Joya High and giving District 32-6A champion Los Fresnos everything it could handle in their two-game series during the regular season, the Raiders look to continue their revival against Eagle Pass.
PALMVIEW VS. PIONEER
La Joya Palmview broke down the bi-district wall for 30-5A teams by defeating Corpus Christi King in two games during the opening round last weekend to set up an area matchup against Sharyland Pioneer.
The Coastal Bend teams from District 29-5A swept their first-round opponents from 30-5A in both 2021 and 2022. For a back-to-back district champion like La Joya Palmview, that didn’t sit well, so the Lobos finally put an end to the trend with a 9-5 victory in Game 1 and a 3-2 walk-off win in 10 innings in Game 2 to sweep the King Mustangs.
No. 22 Sharyland Pioneer went all three games against Harlingen South during its first-round series, but looked dominant in its Game 2 and Game 3 victories. The Diamondbacks are coming off a regional final appearance in 2022 and have multiple pieces back with plenty of playoff experience under their belts.
The Diamondbacks (27-6-1) and Lobos (25-7) will face off in a three-game area playoff series beginning at 7 tonight at Mission Veterans High School. Game 2 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Sharyland Pioneer High School, with Game 3, if necessary, at 3 p.m. Saturday at Mission Veterans High School.
USUAL SUSPECTS
Several tradition-rich Valley baseball programs are set for area action after picking up bi-district wins last week.
Class 6A squads Los Fresnos (27-6-1) and PSJA High (23-7) are squared up against Laredo schools in Round 2. The Falcons will play a three-game series against Laredo United (12-19), with all three games to be played at Rio Grande City High School. The Bears meet Laredo Alexander (19-14) in a three-game series, with all three at Somerset High School.
Weslaco High (21-10-3) hosts San Antonio O’Connor (20-9-2) for Game 1 of their area-round series at 6:30 tonight at Weslaco High School. Games 2 and 3, if necessary, will be played at Northside Sports Complex in San Antonio.
The RGV’s three remaining Class 5A teams — Sharyland High, Edinburg Vela and McAllen Rowe — are all slated for head-to-head matchups against state-ranked squads from the Coastal Bend.
No. 14 Sharyland High (26-5) has a top 25 area round playoff series on its hands as the Rattlers face No. 17 Corpus Christi Carroll (22-9-2) in a three-game series. Game 1 is at 5 p.m. tonight at Cabaniss Baseball Field in Corpus Christi. Game 2 is at 7 p.m. Friday at McAllen High School, with Game 3, if necessary, at 5 p.m. Saturday back at Cabaniss Baseball Field.
Edinburg Vela (23-10) took care of business against Brownsville Veterans in two games in Round 1 to set up a matchup of powerhouse programs between the SaberCats and No. 4 Corpus Christi Veterans (27-6-1). The three-game series will be played at Hebbronville High School with Game 1 beginning at 6 p.m. Friday.
McAllen Rowe (22-11) is coming off a third-round playoff appearance in 2022 and just upset top-seeded Weslaco East in their one-game bi-district playoff last week. The Warriors are headed for a rematch against No. 5 Corpus Christi Ray (30-5), the team that ended Rowe’s run in Round 3 a season ago in a three-game series that went all three.
3A SHOWDOWNS
The top two finishers from District 32-3A — Lyford and Rio Hondo — are set for second-round showdowns against state-ranked Banquete and a solid Taft team that won the 29-3A championship.
The Bobcats have put together their best season in program history with a 27-2 mark and will play in a one-game playoff against Taft (16-13) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in San Diego. Lyford (20-7), winner of 10 straight, meets Banquete (26-6) in a three-game series.
HISTORIC WINS
Edinburg IDEA Quest and Edinburg IDEA College Prep made program history by winning their bi-district playoff matchups against Santa Rosa and Monte Alto last week.
Quest defeated Santa Rosa 17-7 in a one-game playoff. Meanwhile, Edinburg IDEA College Prep went three games against Monte Alto and pulled off a decisive 16-6 victory in Game 3 to advance to the area round.