McALLEN — Six years, 11 months and 22 days — that’s how long it’s been since McAllen Rowe last defeated crosstown rival McAllen High on the diamond entering this season’s District 31-5A opener between the two.
The Warriors reset that number to zero with a 6-0 shutout of the Bulldogs on Tuesday at McAllen High School, snapping a 13-game losing streak in head-to-head matchups.
“It’s something I know these kids have been working hard for. It’s something that they’re capable of after the display that they put on,” Rowe head coach Adrian Leal said. “… I think there was no fear coming in here. We knew that if we played a good game that we’d give ourselves a chance, and at the end of the day, we did.”
The Warriors improve to 10-4 overall and 1-0 in district. The Bulldogs drop to 3-11-1 and 0-1 in 31-5A.
“I always dreamed of beating McHi. Our senior year, we knew this was our time,” Rowe second baseman Ivan Salinas said. “We got hits, double plays, our defense was amazing, our pitching was incredible — we were on our A-game today.”
McAllen Rowe freshman pitcher Javier Garcia carried a no-hit bid into the seventh. He recorded eight strikeouts while scattering four walks and one hit across 6.2 innings.
He also received some key defensive stops from the Rowe infield, including two 6-4-3 double plays turned by Rowe shortstop Jorge Melendez, Salinas and first baseman Jacob Torres.
“They helped me a lot and helped me boost my confidence,” Garcia said. “Today, I was throwing dots, I was throwing strikes, and my defense boosted me a lot.”
Gabriel Renner led the Warriors going 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Melendez, Salinas and third baseman Branden Leon finished with an RBI each.
| McAllen Rowe’s baserunner Gabriel Renner (15) gets back on 1st as McHi’s Diego Garcia (13) reaches to catch the ball in the 2nd inning during a game at Ted Uhlaender field at McAllen High school Tuesday ,March,15,2022. (Delcia Lopez/The Monitor | [email protected]) Delcia Lopez |
Rowe’s Leal was an assistant coach on the 2015 Warriors’ team that last defeated McHi prior to Tuesday.
This marked his first win against the Bulldogs, and the two teams meet again at 2 p.m. Thursday at Rowe High School.
“I know all those things about them being defending district champion, but it’s one win — it really and truly is. We gotta turn around, we have a day of practice tomorrow and then we gotta play them at our house on Thursday, and we want to come out with the same outcome,” Leal said. “In order to do that, we can’t get caught up on this being that big of a win. I know when things are said and done, the seniors will enjoy that they beat McHi and got over the hump, but for right now, it’s just a big win because it’s the first one of the district season.”