CORPUS CHRISTI — McAllen Memorial may be playing in its first regional semifinal in program history but the Mustangs played like an experienced group in an 8-2 Game 1 victory over Kerrville Tivy on Thursday at Cabaniss Field in Corpus Christi.
Junior left-handed pitcher David An, a Houston commit, threw 6 1/3 innings of no-hit ball allowing two runs, one earned, off four walks with 11 strikeouts. Sophomore lefty RJ Rios closed the game with a strikeout and popup to preserve the no-hitter.
The Mustangs lead their Region IV-5A semifinal series 1-0 against the Antlers and will have two opportunities to punch their ticket to Round 5 on Saturday.
Game 2 between Memorial and Tivy is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday at Cabaniss Stadium. Game 3 will be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2, if necessary.
“David An was amazing. Like we said, if we can score a couple of runs off them, I think we have good pitching to hold them and we did just that,” Memorial head coach Roque Cortinas said.
Tivy scored its runs off an error and RBI groundout in the second and a balk with runners on the corners in the third. That was all the offense Tivy would muster, however, as An had it going against the Antlers.
“I knew we were going against another tough pitcher, but I believed that we could hit and I trusted my defense and my offense,” An said. “They backed me up a lot. I was on today, I felt good, and it was just a team-win.”
Memorial held a 3-2 lead before exploding offensively with a five-run fifth inning to take full control.
The Mustangs loaded the bases with no outs and proceeded to score on a Daniel Flores walk, a Lukas Cabrera single, a Kane Coy two-run single and a passed ball to pull ahead 8-2.
Coy finished 1-for-3 with three RBI, Cabrera went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one walk, while Flores and Erik Serrano drove in one run apiece.
“We got our bats going early and it showed with those eight runs. We had our defense to follow behind David and he pitched a hell of a game,” Coy said.
Memorial will have two shots to win the series Saturday in Games 2 and 3, if necessary.
“We just have to keep the same routine. We’ll have some light practice tomorrow, try to stay focused for Saturday, not get too high for tonight, but I like our chances,” Cortinas said.
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