MISSION — “There’s two Rio Grande Valley teams left, and Palmview is one of them,” La Joya Palmview head coach Rick Garcia said to his Lobos on the field of UTRGV Baseball Stadium after their regional quarterfinal playoff sweep of Edinburg Vela last Saturday.
This year’s group of Lobos has rewritten the school record books by becoming the first team in program history to reach the regional semifinal round of the postseason, and it is not finished yet.
“We’ve been chasing this goal of ours since we were little. Some of us had older brothers who made it to the third round, and that just gave us the drive to surpass what they’ve done and make our own history,” senior first baseman Chris Perez said.
| La Joya Palmview’s Chris Perez signals one more out during a Region IV-5A quarterfinal game against Edinburg Vela at UTRGV Baseball Stadium Saturday May ,20, 2023 in Edinburg. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected]) Delcia Lopez |
“Our hard work has paid off up until this point, but the job’s not done. We still got another round, we still got another week to play,” senior center fielder Tony Villarreal said. “We don’t treat practice any differently. We’re here to get better because improvement is the key to success and that’s what we have to do here because every team gets better each round, so we’re just trying to compete and advance.”
Palmview (29-8) is prepared to play in its first Sweet 16 playoff series against Leander Rouse (19-10-1) in a best-of-three Region IV-5A semifinal playoff series beginning tonight.
Game 1 between Palmview and Leander Rouse is set for 6 p.m. at Jourdanton High School in Jourdanton. Game 2 will begin at 4 p.m. Friday at Coastal Bend College in Beeville, with Game 3 to follow 30 minutes after, if necessary.
Back-to-back District 30-5A champion Palmview’s road to the Sweet 16 has been paved by clutch play from the Lobos. In each of their first three playoff series this postseason, Palmview has won one of the two games in walk-off fashion.
| La Joya Palmview’s Mateo Garcia,left, tags out Edinburg Vela’s Bobby Garcia,right,during a Region IV-5A quarterfinal game at UTRGV Baseball Stadium Saturday May ,20, 2023 in Edinburg. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected]) Delcia Lopez |
In Round 1, the Lobos clinched a series sweep of Corpus Christi King with a 10th inning walk-off RBI single from Mateo Garcia to win Game 2, 3-2.
In Round 2, Palmview battled back from down 2-0 during the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 3 against Sharyland Pioneer to tie the game, load the bases and win on a walk-off hit by pitch 3-2.
Last weekend in Round 3, the Lobos rallied past Edinburg Vela in Game 1 of their series with two runs in the bottom of the seventh as a bases-loaded RBI single from Josiah Gonzalez put them over the top 6-5.
| La Joya Palmview’s Josiah Gonzalez (15) watches his hit sail across the field to bring in the winning run in the seventh inning to defeat Edinburg Vela 5-6 in a Region IV-5A quarterfinal playoff series game 1 at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium on Friday, May 19, 2023, in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez |[email protected]) Joel Martinez |
Palmview’s head coach Garcia learned early on in the season his team could play with the best in the state after going toe-to-toe against Sinton, Baseball America’s third-ranked team in the nation, falling 4-3 in five innings. Sinton pitched its best player, Blake Mitchell, a Louisiana State baseball signee who is also ranked No. 13 on Major League Baseball’s 2023 Prospect Rankings.
The Lobos scored three runs off three hits and two walks against Mitchell.
“We can play against anybody. Sinton’s a great ballclub and they threw their ace, a young man by the name of Blake Mitchell — he’s a stud and topped out that day at 97 mph, and we were able to score some runs against him,” Garcia said. “I’m hoping that’s what we can do against this team we’re about to play, and we’ll see what we can do. We got to play seven innings and not put our heads down if something goes wrong.”
| La Joya Palmview’s Herminio Gonzalez releases a pitch during a Region IV-5A quarterfinal game against Edinburg Vela at UTRGV Baseball Stadium Saturday May ,20, 2023 in Edinburg. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected]) Delcia Lopez |
Leander Rouse finished fourth in District 25-5A but has been riding hot in the playoffs. The Rouse Raiders opened with a three-game series win over New Braunfels Canyon in Round 1, then swept San Antonio Alamo Heights in Round 2. Rouse then won a one-game playoff against district rival Cedar Park, 9-8, to punch its ticket to the fourth round against Palmview.
“Our expectations are always to win,” Villarreal said. “We have to go in there and stay calm, cool and collected, do what we do and play ball, and whatever happens happens.”
BRAINS AND BRAWN
Palmview’s roster doesn’t just feature a group of standout baseball players, but a group of brainiacs in the classroom as well.
Senior captain Gael Gonzalez is a four-year letterman and is the Salutatorian for Palmview’s 2023 graduating class. Teammate Renso Tamez ranks No. 5 in the class and Chris Chapa is No. 11. They’ll be graduating Saturday following their best-of-three regional semifinal series against Leander Rouse.
“It goes back to our parents’ roots, it’s always hard work whether you’re in the classroom or on the field,” Gonzalez said. “If we want something, we have to do it 100%.”