By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

LOS FRESNOS — Los Fresnos has had some success over the past two seasons with back-to-back trips to the third round and some of those talented players have been rewarded.

Two of the Falcons football players, Sebastian Gonzales and Robert Ramirez, are going to the next level to continue their football careers after making their decisions official during a signing ceremony Friday.

Gonzales earned a full scholarship to play for University of Texas-Permian Basin, an NCAA Division II school in Odessa. As a senior, he was a standout linebacker that led the defense and earned honors on the All-Metro first team with 71 tackles, a sack and an interception on the season.

“I’m ready to work,” he said. “It feels like a weight off my shoulders … now that I’m here, I’m ready to go.”

Gonzales, who plans to major in English and become a teacher and a coach, chose Permian Basin because of its proximity to Los Fresnos.

“The free education was nice,” he said. “Staying close to home … that was a big factor. I don’t know if I’m ready for the next level, but I hope that I am. The coaches believe I am. I’m going to start at the bottom of the depth chart, but it only motivates me to work harder.”

Los Fresnos head coach Patrick Brown is sure he is and made sure the coach at Permian Basin, who coaches some of Brown’s former players, knew that as well.

“(I told him) this kid can play, I know it, I’ve coached some of these other kids that star for you that played for me and he’s as good, if not better,” Brown said. “He called me the next day and said ‘full scholarship.’”

The Falcons coach has been so impressed with Gonzales over the past two seasons that he has already extended an offer for his star linebacker to come back and coach when he’s finished with school.

“He’s the single best football mind I’ve ever coached,” Brown said. “He studies film like no one else. He audibled all our defensive calls, that’s not something most kids can do. I think he’s going to make an amazing coach one day.

“He’s incredibly special.”

Gonzales was taken back by his coach’s words.

“It was a humbling moment especially for someone you hold in such high regards thinks so well of you, it’s very gratifying,” he said. “Coach Brown has been the perfect father/head coach figure that you always thought of, he makes sure everyone works hard.

“He helped mold me into what I am … without him I wouldn’t be in the same place I am right now.”

Ramirez is headed to Texas Lutheran University, an NCAA Division III school in Seguin.

He was a versatile player that played on both sides of the ball, as a cornerback, a receiver and even returned kickoffs and punts. As a receiver, he finished his senior season with 30 catches for 390 yards and four touchdowns and even threw a 27-yard pass for a touchdown.

“It opens some doors for me … to get my education while playing football at the next level, so it’s a dream come true,” Ramirez said. “I’ve been working for this my whole life and it’s finally here.”

At Texas Lutheran, he’ll play as an inside receiver, but there is the possibility to move to defense as well.

“He’s such a dynamic player,” Brown said. “He stretched defenses for us.”

Ramirez plans to study kinesiology to become a physical therapist one day. The senior receiver said Brown’s influence helped get him ready to play at the next level.

“He teaches discipline, he made us do everything right,” Ramirez said. “Everything we do, we have to do it right, there’s no point in wasting time in life.”

Brown hoped that these signings helped younger players try to achieve the same goals.

“It’s up to these kids in the Valley to stick with it … it’s so important if they want to take advantage of it to stay full time,” he said. “It says if you put in the work, you put in the time and put in something solid on tape, you’re going to have an opportunity to play. These guys didn’t miss a workout all summer; they came during Christmas break and Spring Break.

“It’s a very proud day to be the head coach at Los Fresnos.”

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.

By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

LOS FRESNOS — Los Fresnos continued its success in volleyball this season with another postseason berth, but to Lady Falcons coach Becky Woods an even greater accomplishment was again achieved.

Lady Falcons volleyball players Giselle Ibarra and Itzy Zapata will continue to compete at the collegiate level after making their intentions official during a signing ceremony Friday.

Ibarra is headed to Southwest Baptist University, an NCAA Division II school in Bolivar, Missouri and will join her sister, Sam Ibarra, a sophomore and a member of the Bearcats volleyball squad after a successful career at Los Fresnos.

The elder Ibarra earned All-Metro defensive honors as a senior, but the younger Ibarra earned plenty of accolades based on her offensive prowess, including both an All-Metro co-MVP and a District 32-6A co-MVP with Rivera’s Stephanie Garza.

Giselle Ibarra led Los Fresnos with 467 kills this season and was second on the team with 394 digs for a squad that went 27-11, including 11-3 in District 32-6A and advanced to the second round of the postseason.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “It was really hard for me (when she left for school), but I’m excited to join her.”

It was an easy choice to play with her sister again on the same volleyball team. But her high school coach will miss her.

“That’s a huge loss for us,” Woods said. “She was my top hitter, she led the lower Valley in kills.”

Giselle Ibarra plans to study education to become a teacher and would eventually like to come back to Los Fresnos to coach.

“Coach Woods is a legend … she’s amazing and I love her,” Giselle Ibarra said. “She has helped me through a lot.”

Zapata is off to Coastal Bend College, an NJCAA school in Beeville. Her senior season was interrupted by a knee injury, but she worked hard to get back onto the court and back into the starting lineup to help her team.

“It was very tough, but I had a lot of support,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to play in college, so to finally get this experience is the best thing.”

Zapata, who will study physical education with the intent to coach, was afraid her injury would prevent her from fulfilling her dream, but Coastal Bend didn’t waver with its offer.

“They supported me through my knee surgery and everything … to get this scholarship, it’s amazing,” she said.

Woods was also impressed with Zapata’s work ethic.

“She struggled … but she did rehab double time, she worked hard and got back in the lineup,” Woods said of the outside hitter. “She’s a great blocker, she’s very enthusiastic, very motivating … always got the other kids up. She had a voice for us.”

Woods influence extends to her players as both wanted to pursue the coaching profession some day. While wins are great and losses hurt, the long-time Los Fresnos coach was happy to see more of her players going to college.

“It’s good to get all that (success), but I love to see my players sign and play college ball,” Woods said. “It’s not all about the wins and losses, but mainly to see these kids grow and become super people. I like to see them grow up and become young women and playing beyond their high school years.”

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.

By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Lopez are capable of swinging the bats and both put the runs on the board Friday night.

But the Chargers got the upper hand, putting five runs across the plate in the sixth inning and that was the difference in a 9-5 victory over the Lobos in a District 32-5A game at Brownsville Veterans.

“I told the guys, we have to keep fighting and get quality at-bats,” Brownsville Veterans coach Albert Rodriguez said. “That (Lopez) pitcher was throwing some great pitches, had great locations and kept us off balanced. Luckily we found a way to get some insurance runs in the sixth.”

Brownsville Veterans had four doubles on the night, included a two-run double by Justin Anaya that highlighted the Chargers five-run sixth inning and helped them pull away and remain a perfect 11-0 in District 32-5A. Lopez’s defense let them down in the sixth, a couple errors led to a few of those runs and the Lobos slip to 9-2 in district play.

“Any runs are huge, but in that situation … our underclassmen came in clutch,” Anaya said. “They started the momentum and I came in and got another big hit for us. Our goal is to get (a) district (title) and after that we want to see how far we can go.

“We’re going to ride this momentum through district and to the playoffs.”

Lopez got on the board first during its first at-bat in the first inning. The Lobos scored a run on a passed ball to take a 1-0 lead.

Brownsville Veterans wasted no time in the bottom half of the inning. Aaron Recio drove in a run with a double to left field to tie it up a t1 and in the process another run scored on a throwing error during a run down to make it 2-1.

The Chargers added to their lead in the second inning. Jesus Kaar hit a double down the third base line to bring home a run. Kaar then scored on Rafael Capistran’s single to center to make it 4-1.

“I’m proud of these guys. They’re a special team, they’re united and they’re team first … it’s like a full body machine and everyone is doing their part,” Rodriguez said of his team’s offensive output. “We didn’t have that experience at the beginning of the season and now we do … they’re growing up and stepping in and filling their roles.”

Lopez got one back in the third inning on an infield error allows a run to score and it cut the deficit in half, 4-2.

The Lobos got another run in the fifth inning after a single by Jesus Villafranca and Alex Olguin, who drew a one-out walk, scored on an errant throw to get within 4-3.

Brownsville Veterans took advantage of Lopez’s miscues and added three hits, including two doubles to score five runs and take a 9-3 advantage.

“We have to play perfect ball when it comes to these type of teams, they’re so talented,” Lopez coach Victor Martinez said. “We played good enough to win, but that sixth inning we had a couple infield errors and those were costly … errors equal runs and they started adding up. Hat’s off to my pitcher, he’s a freshman … we put him in the spotlight and he shined, but we didn’t help behind him.”

The Lobos started the seventh with a pair of singles by Jose Rodriguez and Olguin and turned those into runs on a sacrifice fly by Jesus De Leon and another on a wild pitch, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap as the Chargers sealed the victory with a strikeout.

Martinez is sure his team will bounce back and use the loss to help them, as they get closer to a postseason berth.

“Keep your head up, we have a lot of season ahead of us,” he said he told his team after the game. “We’ll make it a learning experience and go back and learn from it and keep working hard. We’re aware of the scenarios for playoffs, but we have to take it one game at a time and prepare for each game … we have to make the most out of these kind of games to prepare us for the postseason.”

Rodriguez said he felt a little relief after coming away with the win, but knows his team wants to keep its momentum going heading in the playoffs.

“(Victor’s) doing a great job, they fight from the first inning to the last inning and they kept us on edge the whole game,” he said. “We want to stay hungry, but stay humble as well … our model for practices is the way you practice is the way you play.

“The returners are hungry and want to give it their best … so we’ll see what happens (in the postseason).”

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.

By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

The stakes and the intensity were high for Rivera and Weslaco High in a crucial District 32-6A game.

Emotions aside, unfortunately the Raiders’ pitching had their troubles and the Panthers took advantage with a 10-run inning during their 14-2 win in a District 32-6A game Friday at Rivera.

“At the end of the day, we couldn’t throw strikes,” Rivera coach Travis Parker said. “The adversity was good for our guys, we need to experience that. I don’t think anything got to us except that we couldn’t throw strikes in that inning. We’ve been solid all year on the mound and this is the first time we’ve experienced that.”

Rivera (6-2 in District 32-6A) had its trouble on the mound in the sixth inning and Weslaco High (6-2) made it pay with 10 runs on no hits, seven walks and three hits batsmen during that inning that sent 13 batters to the plate and put the game out of reach. Once the Panthers loaded the bases, the runs kept coming as four different pitchers struggled for the Raiders toget out of the jam.

Rivera starting pitcher Diego Gonzalez had pitched well until then, but got knocked out in the sixth. He took the loss after he allowed nine runs in 5 1/3 innings on five hits, walked three, struck out five and had three hit batsmen. Johnny Balli, Omar Rodriguez and Jesus Ibarra also took the mound and each had their own struggles in the sixth.

The game started out much differently.

Weslaco High took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI double by Raul Camarena. Rivera wasted no time and tied it in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Raul Gonzalez.

It would stay tied until the fourth inning. The Panthers got their bats going and got three runs via RBI singles by Rico Avila, Bryan Diaz and Seth Sanchez to give them a 4-1 lead. The intensity started to boil as the Raiders catcher was ejected after the third run scored on a close play and both players argued near home plate.

“It was a matter of making plays,” Weslaco High coach Eddie Serna said. “At our place (Tuesday), we didn’t make plays … and (Friday) we made a few extra plays and that rolled our way. (Rivera pitchers) were struggling with their command, we were patient and that gave us some momentum. When you lose that first game (of the district series), you redeem yourself on Friday or you go home and pack it up because they swept you.

“Our deal was to redeem ourselves and I think the kids rebounded well.”

In the fifth inning, things got worse for Rivera before they got better. Raiders head Travis Parker argued a play in the top half of the inning and eventually got tossed. But his team got a run back in the bottom half as Gonzalez hit an RBI single to center field to cut the deficit to two.

“Bad calls are going to happen and I’m going to fight for my guys,” Parker said.

That momentum didn’t last as Weslaco High broke the game open when the Rivera pitching staff had its troubles, leading to the teams splitting their season series.

Avila helped himself at the plate with an RBI and a run scored and did just as well on the mound for the Panthers. He got the win after going all six innings and allowed two runs on four hits, walked one, struck out two and had two hit batsmen.

Serna said he liked the atmosphere, as close to a postseason intensity as it could be.

“The intensity is always up here … fortunately the ball bounced our way and we were able to get a lead and put the pressure on them,” he said. “We have six games to go and anything can happen … we’re going to stayfocused and keep going forward, just take it one step at a time.”

The Raiders coach and his team would rather erase this one from their memory.

“We’ll learn from it and get better and be ready to bounce back on Tuesday,” Parker said. “We’re still there and fighting for a playoff spot. We’re going to forget this, it’s water under the bridge … we’ll fix what we need to fix and come back better tomorrow.”

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.

By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

Lopez trailed early, but kept swinging the bats against Edcouch-Elsa.

The Lobos scored four runs in the fifth inning to erase a three-run deficit and held off the Yellowjackets 7-6 in a District 32-5A game Tuesday at Lopez.

“This team is very special, this team does not give up,” Lopez coach Victor Martinez said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the last out or we have a couple innings left in the game, this team always fights to the end. This is a special group of kids. They’ve grown and they believe in the system and we’re moving forward one pitch at a time.”

Trailing 6-3 in the fifth, Lopez got the spark it needed on offense. Alex Olguin reached on an error to start the inning and scored on an RBI triple by Jesus De Leon. Robert Guerra and Ivan Banuelos each had an RBI single and another run scored on an error to give the Lobos a 7-6 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

“Errors. We played terrible, that’s the bottom line,” Edcouch-Elsa coach Ryan Garza said of his team’s defensive breakdown in the fifth inning. “We have to put our selfishness aside and play for the team. That’s what it’s got to be.”

Edcouch-Elsa threatened in the seventh inning with a one-out double by Marin Rodriguez that knocked out Olguin. De Leon came in for relief, but walked the next two hitters to load the bases. De Leon redeemed himself with two straight strikeouts to earn the save and seal the win for Lopez, who is now 5-1 in District 32-5A. Edcouch-Elsa lost its second straight and is 3-3 in district play.

De Leon was 3 for 4 at the plate with a triple, a run scored and an RBI. He held on for the save in 2/3 innings of work, gave up no runs on no hits, walked two and struck out two.

“I had confidence in my team, I had to come in clutch and just throw strikes,” De Leon said. “We have to be humble and (hopefully) keep on winning games.”

Olguin earned the win after he went 6 1/3 innings and allowed six runs on 12 hits, walked one and struck out seven and had a hit batsman.

“(Jesus) looks up to Alex a lot and he’s followed in his footsteps, he’s like a little brother to Alex and it’s great to have those kinds of kids,” Martinez said. “They can do it all … they can get quality at-bats, get on the mound and throw strikes, those (kids) are hard to find. They work together and it’s showing this year, (Jesus is) batting really high and performing well on the mound.”

Edcouch-Elsa had its offense going early and got on the board quickly with three runs in the first inning. Joseph Gonzalez brought in a run with a double to left field and Derick Valdez added a two-run single to make it 3-0.

The Yellowjackets added two more runs in the second inning with a two-run single by Rodriguez to take a 5-0 edge.

Lopez got a few runs back in the third inning. Olguin had an RBI single to right field and later scored on a wild pitch. Later in the inning, Guerra drove in another run on a single to right, but the Lobos still trailed 5-3.

Edcouch-Elsa added another run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Gonzalez to extend its lead to 6-3.

Lopez got its offense going in the fifth to take the lead and held on late for the district victory.

The Yellowjackets starting pitcher Ben Rangel took the loss after going six innings and he allowed seven runs on eight hits, walked none and struck out seven.

It was a disappointing loss for Edcouch-Elsa who lost its second straight one-run game.

“We have to forget about this game and move forward,” Garza said. “We need to get back on the bus and get ready for practice (today).”

The win puts Lopez in sole possession of second place in District 32-5A, but Martinez didn’t want to dwell on that.

“It’s an awesome feeling, but we really don’t talk about our record,” he said. “We won (Tuesday) and we’ll celebrate with each other, but we move on to the next day, we have to get back to work.

“We try to knock it down one game at a time and that’s the mentality we have.”

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.

By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

New Los Fresnos head coach Rebecca Valdez saw the potential in her team from Day 1.

And her team went out and showed its first-year coach what she already knew.

Valdez led the Lady Falcons to a 27-win season, including their first postseason trip in three years. Her team relied on its defense, hard work and grit to get the job done and in the process broke its brief postseason drought.

For her successful season, Valdez earns the distinction as The Brownsville Herald’s 2018 All-Metro Coach of the Year.

“It’s a huge honor especially coming in as a first-year head coach,” Valdez said. “I’m excited to be blessed with this opportunity here and to be honored with the All-Metro award is pretty nice.”

Valdez credits coach Kim Edquist, the long-time Los Fresnos coach that retired after last season, for building the foundation with the young team.

“I think Coach Edquist did a great job last year with them, but they just lacked experience,” Valdez said. “This year was bringing them back to have that confidence, having that year of experience and building upon what was already here.”

Valdez said that her senior captains Britney Ruiz and Jessica Fuentes were ‘the heartbeat of the team’ and that the younger classmen played for the senior class to get them to the postseason.

Although it was clear to Valdez about the team’s potential, the transition to a new coach wasn’t easy for some of her players.

“I was mad at first, I wouldn’t acknowledge her,” junior point guard Jovanna Adame said of coaching change.

But once they understood that the goals were the same and the focus on defense was similar to Edquist, it was much better.

“She came in with the same mindset as Coach Edquist wanting to win and believing in us,” Adame said. “We’re together as a team, everyone has to put in the effort.”

Senior forward Jessica Fuentes noticed the differences, too.

“I feel like she was tougher,” she said of her new coach. “It was different … she was tougher on us.”

Despite which player’s thought which coach was tougher on them in practices and the like, getting back to the postseason was the only thing that mattered.

“It felt really good, I was very happy,” Fuentes said. “I hope they win district next year.”

It all started with defense. Valdez used a defensive approach where each player played a certain part.

“I pushed a lot of team defense and holding each other accountable,” she said. “Everyone has their role on our defense.”

After experiencing the growing pains of being a new coach along with some success this season, Valdez is confident they’ll achieve more next year.

“I feel like next year I’ll be more confident in myself … hopefully that feeds off to my kids,” she said. “I’m excited, I think Los Fresnos is a great place to be. We’re going to come back stronger; we have a good core coming back.
“I think we’ll have even more success in the future with the legacy that those seniors left.”

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.

By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

Basketball is about finding a balance between offense and defense and Pace certainly found it this season.

After the Lady Vikings lost the bulk of their scoring and their top defender to graduation last year, the suddenly younger squad had to find their new roles.

Junior Rosa Salinas provided stability on the defensive end in the middle of Pace’s 2-3 zone, anchored the paint and became its top rebounder and shot blocker. Sophomore Sofia Espinoza settled into the starting lineup and provided consistency on offense and led the Lady Vikings in scoring.

Salinas earned the distinction as the top defender for District 32-5A and Espinoza was the district’s top newcomer and now the honors continue for the pair. Salinas earned the distinction as The Brownsville Herald’s 2018 All-Metro

Defensive Player of the Year and Espinoza is the All-Metro Newcomer of the Year.

“I’m happy, I’m proud … I feel good about it,” Salinas said. “I worked hard for it.”

She averaged 7.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists for the Lady Vikings as their defensive specialist.

“I feel like she was our anchor,” Pace coach Eddie Lozano said. “Our defense could break down at different times, but when (opponents) got in the paint they felt uncomfortable. She has long arms and great timing. She has a good ability rebounding and going and getting that ball and she limits your possessions.”

The junior helped improve her game in the offseason at Oliveria Park with competition against the boys. It helped her get quicker and tougher in the paint. And thanks to her coaches, her parents and even her brother Mario pushing her, it helped transform her game.

“She understands our concept and her role; and she understands everyone’s role too,” Lozano said. “This year she was the general, she talked to everybody. That’s the attitude she took this year, being in control of the entire defense and that helped us out a lot.”

Espinoza found her groove on offense during the year and scored a season-high of 28 points, including 20 in the first half against Porter during a district game in December.

“I’m very proud of my accomplishments because I practiced really hard during the season,” she said. “I put in the work in practice and the way I played I was proud of myself. I always had goals … if I did good in one game, in the next one I always tried to do better.”

Espinoza was the Lady Vikings go-to scorer and averaged a team-best 11.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.1 steals, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks.

“She’s a natural scorer, she knows how to get the ball in the hoop,” Lozano said. “Whether it’s a fast break or a post move, she makes buckets. I didn’t know at the beginning of the year she was going to be our leading scorer.
“It turned out that way and it was a blessing.”

It took some time for Espinoza to get comfortable with her game in the paint, but once she did she thrived.

Pace graduates only three seniors and returns nine including Espinoza, Salinas and district All-Defensive teamer Lexy Arce.

“I feel comfortable and excited about next year, but we have to start working,” Lozano said.

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.

By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

After Brownsville Veterans Memorial lost a talented senior class last season, it needed a new leader. Hannah Meyers took the reins and led the Lady Chargers to another successful season.

Meyers, the team’s second leader scorer last year, increased her scoring average and took more of a leadership role to a younger squad. She still led Brownsville Veterans to another District 32-5A title and a return to the second round of the postseason.

For her leadership and successful senior season, Meyers — also named the district’s top player — has been named The Brownsville Herald’s 2018 All-Metro Most Valuable Player.

“I’m proud of myself,” Meyers said. “I’m happy.”

The senior forward averaged 13.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 steals, 2.3 assists and 1.9 blocks for the Lady Chargers that advanced to area round of the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Meyers also earned a couple of All-Stars nods to go with her other accolades.

“She was our leader without a doubt, but she would sacrifice for someone else,” Brownsville Veterans coach Valentin Paz said. “Great leaders lead by example and she did that. But she did it by voice and by sacrificing of herself (as well). We’ve been blessed to have great players in the past five or six years and she’s definitely among those … she embodies the sacrifice for the good of the team.

“I’m glad she got those recognitions because she could have gone out and scored 20 points a game. She was always trying to make sure everything she was doing was to build up the rest of her teammates for what’s coming ahead.”

That’s what Meyers did to become a leader, whatever was best for the team. But at times Paz saw that her selflessness was sometimes a detriment.

“It’s a testament of not only the type of player, but the type of human being that she is,” Paz said. “(I told her) you are putting the team above all else. We want to win, but we don’t want to sacrifice your legacy and what you can do and accomplish.”

With a young team, it wasn’t easy for the Lady Chargers to start the season. But Meyers saw how much the team came together because of the competition.

“It started out rough, we were losing a lot of games,” she said. “We were playing teams which helped us out to get ready for the season and building up the younger girls.”

Meyers said winning a district title was a little sweeter this season.

“I’m proud of our team and everything we accomplished after losing so many good players the last few years,” she said. “It was nice knowing that the work we put forth, all of our effort, we could continue the tradition, a five-year tradition (of making the playoffs).

“To let people know we can still do it.”

Meyers won’t be continuing to shine on the court after her high school career ends. Instead she plans to focus on college by studying biology at the University of Houston and going to medical school.

“(However) basketball will always be a part of me,” she said.

Paz is already trying to get used to his top scorer being gone. Offseason work has already begun and he is reminding his team of Meyer’s work ethic and what she accomplished in four years in the program.

“Everyone needs to become more assertive,” Paz said. “We need to step up. The legacy she left is that our DNA is you gotta work. It doesn’t matter who you are. You can be the best player, but you have to work. If you don’t work, it’s not going to happen.”

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.

The Brownsville Herald’s 2018 All-Metro Girls Basketball Team

MVP

Hannah Meyers, Sr., Brownsville Veterans Memorial

Offensive Player of the Year

Mia Paz, Jr., Hanna

Defensive Player of the Year

Rosa Salinas, Jr., Pace

Newcomer of the Year

Sofia Espinoza, So., Pace

Coach of the Year

Rebecca Valdez, Los Fresnos

First Team

Lizzie Garza, So., Brownsville Veterans Memorial

Arianda Gallardo, So., Los Fresnos

Lexy Arce, Pace

Sabrina Garza, Jr., Port Isabel

Sabrina Gonzalez, Fr., Port Isabel

Second Team

Jovanna Adame, Jr., Los Fresnos

Britney Ruiz, Sr., Los Fresnos

Jackie De La Rosa, Sr., Hanna

Gisele Sampayo, Jr., St. Joseph Academy

Nora Espinoza, Sr., Lopez

By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

Brownsville Veterans Memorial needed an extra inning to get by Porter in a tense District 32-5A game.

The Chargers pinch-hitter Lorenzo Hernandez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the winning run in a 3-2, eight-inning district triumph over the Cowboys on Friday at Brownsville Veterans.

“My coaches are confident in me and I didn’t want to let them down,” Hernandez said. “I knew I had to put the ball in play or let the pitcher walk me. I knew I could have ducked, but I didn’t want to risk it … I just wanted to help out the team and get the win.”

After Porter tied the game at 2 in the seventh and Brownsville Veterans failed to score in the bottom half, the game headed to extra innings. The Cowboys couldn’t put any runs across and the Chargers had another chance.

Jesus Kaar started the eighth with a single to left field. After a ground out and a passed ball, Kaar moved to third base. Cristian Holloway and Justin Anaya were promptly walked intentionally to load the bases with Hernandez coming up as a pitch hitter. He stayed poised and on a 3-1 count was hit by a pitch that scored Kaar to earn the victory.

“(Hernandez) hits the ball so hard in practice,” Brownsville Veterans coach Albert Rodriguez said. “I told him in practice you earn your trophies and during the game you’re going to go collect them. I told him, I know you’re nervous, but don’t be go collect your trophy. He gave me a big Colgate smile and he went up and that happened.”

Unfortunately for Porter its gamble didn’t work.

“We were trying for a force out, but also not having to face those two guys,” Porter coach Oscar Cortez said. “We wanted to pitch to (Hernandez) instead and it didn’t work out in our favor … that’s baseball.”

The win keeps Brownsville Veterans a perfect 5-0 in District 32-5A and Porter falls to 1-4 in district play.

It was a back-and-forth game all evening.

It was scoreless until the fourth inning when Porter broke through with an RBI double by Erick Luiton that scored Saddam Cantu, who started the inning with a walk, and took a 1-0 lead.

Brownsville Veterans erased the deficit in the bottom half of the inning with two runs acrossthe plate on an error and a 2-1 edge.

The Chargers’ defense helped that out of a few jams and saved a couple runs throughout the game, but the offense was misfiring at times.

“Fortunately for us our pitching was there, our defense was solid,” Rodriguez said. “It was a terrible outing for us offensively. We told the kids to enjoy the victory, but this isn’t one we want. Everyone is going to bring their ‘A’ game against us, they are going to give us their best and we have to bring our best day in and out.

“I felt we didn’t do that (Friday).”

The Cowboys threatened during the next two innings, but came up empty. With one last chance in the seventh, Porter started with a single by Cruz Reyna and Cantu drew awalk. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners up and Luiton pulled off a suicide squeeze to bring home the tying run.

Justin Anaya earned the win after pitching two innings in relief and allowed no runs on one hit,walked none and struck out one for Brownsville Veterans.

Cesar Lartigue took the loss for Porter after pitching 2/3 of an inning and allowed one run on one hit, walked two intentionally, struck out one and had a hits batsman.

Another close game in district for the Cowboys doesn’t go in their favor. But Cortez is optimistic going forward.

“It’s another year wherethings haven’t gone our way,” he said. “Most of the guys aren’t experienced. We have a lot of first year varsity players, but I’ve told them they still have to come out and perform, the pressure is on the whole team. I think we need (a couple breaks) and I think they’ll come our way. It’s a tough loss, but things are going to come our way.”

Despite the extra-inning, walk-off win, Rodriguez wasn’t pleased with his offense and knows it needs to find some consistency.

“We are making the playson defense, but on offense we have to keep our foot down and keep pushing,” he said. “We have to turn the engine on and keep going. That’s the nature of the game, sometimes you’re going to come out flat and we have to overcome adversity.

“A win is a win and thankfully the baseball gods were on our side.”

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.

By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

LOS FRESNOS — Los Fresnos trailed late, but never lost hope against Harlingen South.

The Falcons rallied to tie the game in bottom of the seventh inning and George Villafranca drew a based-loaded walk to give them a 3-2 walk off victory over the Hawks in a District 32-6A game Tuesday.

“Whenever we’re down and it’s late, I’ve come to understand this team is always going to come back, no matter what,” Villafranca said. “It’s a bold thing to say, but I trust my guys. I didn’t have any worries … I think Coach had more worries than me.

“I calmed myself and said if he puts it there I’m going to swing as hard as I can, if he doesn’t, I might as well walk.”

Los Fresnos trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh but Sebastian Ledezma started the rally with a single to center field. JJ Sanchez followed with a bunt single and Carlos Perez came through with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2. Charles Chapa and Victor Montemayor drew back-to-back walks to load the bases.

Villafranca was patient at the plate and drew another walk that brought home the game winner.

“I’m proud of my kids of the way they came back. They kept believing what we’re doing,” Los Fresnos coach Rene Morales said. “We finally got a couple clutch hits that we needed and a couple walks at the end … and that was the outcome of the game.”

Not to be forgotten in the final inning, Villafranca probably saved a run with his defense with a diving catch for the third out in the top of the seventh. He was 0 for 3 until he came through in his final at-bat to keep the Falcons a perfect 3-0 in District 32-6A. The loss drops Harlingen South to 1-2 in district play.

Through three innings it was a pitchers duel as Los Fresnos’ Cristian Hernandez battled the Hawks’ Trey Vento on the mound, but neither would factor into the eventual decision.

Harlingen South finally broke the scoreless tie with a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning to take a 1-0 lead.

Two innings later, Nick Muniz reached on an error to start the sixth inning and Dylan Carreon came through with a two-out RBI single to give the Hawks a 2-0 advantage.

The Falcons got on the board and cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth after Joseph Munoz had an RBI single to center.

But it was Villafranca who used his glove to make a difference and then capped the final-inning rally with his final at-bat to keep Los Fresnos rolling along in District 32-6A.

“We didn’t execute on the small ball like we needed to do to get a few more runs,” Harlingen South coach Christopher Gracia said of a few missed opportunities in the late innings. “We execute on a few more bunts, we have two or three more runs and that helps out.

“We’ll keep working on that, but we just have to get ready for them … we play them again in a few days. We’ll be alright, we just have to bounce back.”

Victor Montemayor earned the win for the Falcons after pitching the seventh and he allowed no runs on no hits, walked one and struck out one.

Nick Muniz took the loss after he allowed two runs on two hits, walked three and struck out none in 1 1/3 innings for the Hawks.

Gracia wasn’t going to dwell on the loss with another game against Los Fresnos coming up Friday at home.

“We’ll see what cost us and work on that in practice the next couple days, but we have to be ready for the next one,” he said. “If we can split with these guys, that puts us in a good spot. We have to keep doing the things that we’re doing right and try to fix the things we’re doing wrong … keep playing hard, keep running hard and good things will happen eventually.

“We can’t put our heads down and we have to move forward.”

Morales knows almost every game is going to be this way, but he believes in his team.

“This is going to be a tough district and every game is going to be close,” he said. “We have to keep doing what we’re doing and keep getting better … swinging the bat, playing defense and throwing strikes, that’s the name of the game.

“We have to keep doing the little things and keep getting better.”

Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.