BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville Veterans senior pitcher Carlos Garza struck out eight batters in a 6-1 win over Rio Grande City in Game 1 of their Region IV-5A area round playoff series Thursday at Brownsville Veterans High School.

The eight Ks give Garza the program record for strikeouts in a single season with 126, but more importantly, the Chargers (24-4-2) are now in control of their second round playoff series with a 1-0 lead over the Rattlers (17-14-1).

Game 2 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Rio Grande City High School. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday at McAllen Rowe High School.

“I’m just proud of the guys. We had a little bit of adversity, but Carlos is a dog on the mound,” Brownsville Veterans head coach Adam Vera said. “He just broke our school record for strikeouts in a season. We’re proud of him. He dominated on the mound. We were pretty efficient offensively. Their guy did a great job. They got a good team and Carlos limited them and we took advantage when we could.”

Garza surrendered just one run off four hits and three walks while striking out eight in a complete game performance.

“We were ready tonight,” Garza said. “It feels good to have that record.”

Garza helped his cause at the plate with a 2-for-3 day with one RBI and one run. Oscar Rodriguez finished 2-for-4 with two RBI. Jose Jimenez went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run, and Fonzy Bueno went 1-for-2 with one RBI, one run and one walk. 

Both of Rodriguez’s RBI were on hard hit balls to center field resulting in a double and triple. The Chargers tallied 10 hits as a team.

“I think we’ve been ready for this since the beginning of the season. I think all the boys bought it today and we’re looking to go 2-0 tomorrow,” Rodriguez said. “We had the right approach at the plate the whole time. The only way to win a game is hitting the ball and I think we did a good job.”

Rattlers’ pitcher Hiram Lopez went six innings and allowed six runs, two earned, off 10 hits and two walks while striking out six.

Rio Grande City scored its lone run on a solo shot to left field by Aaron Benavidez in the top of the third inning to make it a 2-1 game.

AREA ROUNDUP

CLASS 6A

LOS FRESNOS 7, SAN ANTONIO O’CONNOR 1: At Los Fresnos, the Falcons did their damage in the third and fifth innings with all seven runs coming in two innings.

Aiden Douglas led the Falcons with 2-for-3 hitting and two RBI. Alejandro Rodriguez, Julian Gutierrrez, Patricio Alvarado and Joshua Alvear all had one RBI.

Los Fresnos pitcher Joaquin Cavazos put together a complete game effort with six hits, one earned run, no walks and five strikeouts.

Game 2 between Los Fresnos (27-6-1) and O’Connor (19-11-2) is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Northside ISD Complex in San Antonio

WESLACO HIGH 7, EAGLE PASS 1: At Weslaco, the Panthers won on their home turf against the Eagles to take a 1-0 series lead in their Class 6A area round best-of-three matchup Thursday at Weslaco High School.

Stone Gomez went 2-for-2 with three RBI, two walks and one run to lead the Panthers. Ryan Everitt drove in two on 1-for-3 hitting with one walk, and Isaiah Garza hit a solo home run.

Weslaco pitcher John Reyna pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run off three hits and five walks while striking out four. Julien Casares pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with one strikeout.

Game 2 between the Panthers (24-8-1) and Eagles (14-17-2) is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday in Eagle Pass.

CLASS 5A

McALLEN HIGH 7, LA JOYA PALMVIEW 0: At McAllen, Jaime Palacios pitched a complete game shutout to lead the Bulldogs over the Lobos for a 1-0 series lead in their best-of-three area round matchup. 

McHi’s ace Palacios surrendered just three hits and two walks while striking out three across seven innings.

The Bulldogs were led by Austin Ramos who went 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs. Eric Alonzo finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Luis Esquivel went 1-for-2 with two RBI.

Game 2 between the Bulldogs (20-12) and Lobos (27-4) is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at La Joya Palmview High School in Mission.

McALLEN MEMORIAL 4, CORPUS CHRISTI VETERANS 1: At Corpus Christi, the Mustangs went on the road and took down the Eagles in Game 1 of their best-of-three area round playoff series Thursday at Corpus Christi Veterans High School.

The Mustangs plated three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 4-0 lead late. Eloy Lozano and Daniel Flores had two hits apiece. Flores, Gael Aguirre and Jacob Sanchez had one RBI each.

Memorial pitcher David An struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings while allowing three hits and four walks to earn the win. Kane Coy picked up the save with 2/3 innings pitched with one strikeout.

Game 2 between the Mustangs (21-11) and Eagles (24-11) is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at McAllen Memorial High School.

CLASS 3A

LYFORD 6, GOLIAD 5: At Hebbronville, the Bulldogs held off the Tigers by one run to pull out the Game 1 win in their Class 3A best-of-three series. 

Game 2 between Lyford (20-8) and Goliad is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Hebbronville High School.

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Twenty-seven Rio Grande Valley high school baseball teams qualified for the UIL state playoffs but only 14 are moving on to the area round after securing first-round postseason victories over the weekend.

Two of the biggest Round 1 performances came from McAllen Memorial and Rio Grande City.

McAllen Memorial was making its first playoff appearance since 2012 and proceeded to win its first bi-district playoff series since 1997 with a two-game sweep of Brownsville Porter in Round 1. 

McAllen Memorial (20-12) is now set for a three-game area round playoff series against Coastal Bend power Corpus Christi Veterans (23-9). Game 1 is scheduled for Thursday in Corpus with Games 2 and 3, if necessary, shifting to McAllen Memorial High School on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Rio Grande City (18-13-1) upset Corpus Christi Ray in two games to sweep the Texans with wins of 3-2 and 8-2.

The Rattlers are moving on to the area round for the first time in five years and now get a Valley vs. Valley matchup against Brownsville Veterans in Round 2. Game details between Rio Grande City and Brownsville Veterans are to be announced.

CLASS 6A

All four bi-district playoff winners at the Class 6A level made quick work with sweeps of their first-round opponents.

La Joya High (19-12-1) won a pair of close ones against San Benito as the Coyotes only allowed one run across two games against the Greyhounds with victories of 3-1 and 3-0. La Joya will meet San Antonio Brennan (18-14) in a three-game area round series Thursday through Saturday.

District 32-6A champion Los Fresnos (27-6-1) demolished Edinburg Economedes by outscoring the Jaguars 30-1 in Round 1. The Falcons will look to stay hot as they prepare for a three-game series against San Antonio O’Connor (18-11-2) in Round 2.

PSJA High (29-5) used some late-inning magic to get past Harlingen High in Game 2 of their bi-district series to secure the 2-0 sweep. Next for PSJA High is Laredo Alexander (23-8-1) with Game 1 Friday in San Juan and Games 2 and 3, if necessary, Saturday in Laredo.

Weslaco High (23-8-1) is back in the area round after winning an extra-inning thriller 3-2 in Game 1 against Mission followed by a 12-0 blowout in Game 2. The Panthers are headed into a three-game area playoff series against Eagle Pass

CLASS 5A

District 31-5A and 32-5A’s top seeds Sharyland Pioneer and Brownsville Veterans both swept their opening round matchups to start the postseason.

Sharyland Pioneer (26-4) took care of business against Brownsville Lopez with wins of 5-2 in Game 1 and 10-0 in Game 2. The Diamondbacks are set to face a tough Victoria East team in Round 2 with a three-game series beginning Friday in Robstown before moving to Alice for Games 2 and 3 on Saturday, if necessary.

Brownsville Veterans (23-4-2) battled in its two games against Sharyland High but found ways to deliver late in both games to earn the bi-district sweep. It took extra innings in Game 1 for the Chargers to escape with a 4-3 walk-off victory and a two-run seventh inning in Game 2 to pull off a 4-2 win to clinch the series.

The Chargers are slated to face Rio Grande City in the area round. Game details are to be announced.

La Joya Palmview and McAllen High square off in Round 2 in another Valley vs. Valley playoff matchup after the Lobos and Bulldogs grinded out bi-district series wins.

Palmview (28-3-1) squeezed out a pair of one-run wins in its first round playoff series against Victoria West to punch its ticket to the area round. In Game 1, one run in the top of the ninth was enough for a 1-0 win in extras. In Game 2, Palmview trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh before plating two runs for a 3-2 walk-off victory to advance.

McAllen High (21-12) needed three games to get past Harlingen South in Round 1 but was thoroughly in control in the deciding Game 3 with a 7-2 win. The Bulldogs proved they have three solid arms to trot out in a best-of-three matchup, which will be key in Round 2 against Palmview.

Game 1 between the Bulldogs and Lobos is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at McHi. Game 2 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Palmview. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday at McHi.

CLASS 3A

The four playoff winners from Class 3A are the RGV’s last sub-5A teams standing in the playoffs after District 32-4A got swept in the first round.

The District 32-3A champion Rio Hondo Bobcats (24-4) meet Santa Gertrudis Academy (14-16-1) in a three-game series Thursday and Friday with all three games at San Diego High School.

Lyford (19-8) will play its area round series against Goliad with all three games at Hebbronville High School.

District 31-3A champ Edinburg IDEA College Prep (13-9) takes on Falfurrias (21-8-1) in a best-of-three series Friday and Saturday with all games at Falfurrias High School.

Santa Rosa (12-12) draws state-ranked Corpus Christi London (31-2) in Round 2. Action starts with Games 1 and 2 on Wednesday in Corpus Christi.

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Twenty-seven Rio Grande Valley high school baseball teams qualified for the UIL state playoffs but only 14 are moving on to the area round after securing first-round postseason victories over the weekend.

Two of the biggest Round 1 performances came from McAllen Memorial and Rio Grande City.

McAllen Memorial was making its first playoff appearance since 2012 and proceeded to win its first bi-district playoff series since 1997 with a two-game sweep of Brownsville Porter in Round 1. 

McAllen Memorial (20-12) is now set for a three-game area round playoff series against Coastal Bend power Corpus Christi Veterans (23-9). Game 1 is scheduled for Thursday in Corpus with Games 2 and 3, if necessary, shifting to McAllen Memorial High School on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Rio Grande City (18-13-1) upset Corpus Christi Ray in two games to sweep the Texans with wins of 3-2 and 8-2.

The Rattlers are moving on to the area round for the first time in five years and now get a Valley vs. Valley matchup against Brownsville Veterans in Round 2. Game details between Rio Grande City and Brownsville Veterans are to be announced.

CLASS 6A

All four bi-district playoff winners at the Class 6A level made quick work with sweeps of their first-round opponents.

La Joya High (19-12-1) won a pair of close ones against San Benito as the Coyotes only allowed one run across two games against the Greyhounds with victories of 3-1 and 3-0. La Joya will meet San Antonio Brennan (18-14) in a three-game area round series Thursday through Saturday.

District 32-6A champion Los Fresnos (27-6-1) demolished Edinburg Economedes by outscoring the Jaguars 30-1 in Round 1. The Falcons will look to stay hot as they prepare for a three-game series against San Antonio O’Connor (18-11-2) in Round 2.

PSJA High (29-5) used some late-inning magic to get past Harlingen High in Game 2 of their bi-district series to secure the 2-0 sweep. Next for PSJA High is Laredo Alexander (23-8-1) with Game 1 Friday in San Juan and Games 2 and 3, if necessary, Saturday in Laredo.

Weslaco High (23-8-1) is back in the area round after winning an extra-inning thriller 3-2 in Game 1 against Mission followed by a 12-0 blowout in Game 2. The Panthers are headed into a three-game area playoff series against Eagle Pass

CLASS 5A

District 31-5A and 32-5A’s top seeds Sharyland Pioneer and Brownsville Veterans both swept their opening round matchups to start the postseason.

Sharyland Pioneer (26-4) took care of business against Brownsville Lopez with wins of 5-2 in Game 1 and 10-0 in Game 2. The Diamondbacks are set to face a tough Victoria East team in Round 2 with a three-game series beginning Friday in Robstown before moving to Alice for Games 2 and 3 on Saturday, if necessary.

Brownsville Veterans (23-4-2) battled in its two games against Sharyland High but found ways to deliver late in both games to earn the bi-district sweep. It took extra innings in Game 1 for the Chargers to escape with a 4-3 walk-off victory and a two-run seventh inning in Game 2 to pull off a 4-2 win to clinch the series.

The Chargers are slated to face Rio Grande City in the area round. Game details are to be announced.

La Joya Palmview and McAllen High square off in Round 2 in another Valley vs. Valley playoff matchup after the Lobos and Bulldogs grinded out bi-district series wins.

Palmview (28-3-1) squeezed out a pair of one-run wins in its first round playoff series against Victoria West to punch its ticket to the area round. In Game 1, one run in the top of the ninth was enough for a 1-0 win in extras. In Game 2, Palmview trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh before plating two runs for a 3-2 walk-off victory to advance.

McAllen High (21-12) needed three games to get past Harlingen South in Round 1 but was thoroughly in control in the deciding Game 3 with a 7-2 win. The Bulldogs proved they have three solid arms to trot out in a best-of-three matchup, which will be key in Round 2 against Palmview.

Game 1 between the Bulldogs and Lobos is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at McHi. Game 2 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Palmview. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday at McHi.

CLASS 3A

The four playoff winners from Class 3A are the RGV’s last sub-5A teams standing in the playoffs after District 32-4A got swept in the first round.

The District 32-3A champion Rio Hondo Bobcats (24-4) meet Santa Gertrudis Academy (14-16-1) in a three-game series Thursday and Friday with all three games at San Diego High School.

Lyford (19-8) will play its area round series against Goliad with all three games at Hebbronville High School.

District 31-3A champ Edinburg IDEA College Prep (13-9) takes on Falfurrias (21-8-1) in a best-of-three series Friday and Saturday with all games at Falfurrias High School.

Santa Rosa (12-12) draws state-ranked Corpus Christi London (31-2) in Round 2. Action starts with Games 1 and 2 on Wednesday in Corpus Christi.

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Weslaco native Brandon “Heartbreaker” Figueroa used a punishing body shot to score a ninth-round knockout of Jessie Magdaleno and successfully defend his Interim WBC Featherweight Title on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia fight card Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The 27-year-old Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) used his size to keep the fight in the pocket with a combination of punches to the body and head to slow Magdaleno (29-3) from the third round on.

In the ninth, Figueroa had Magdaleno backed against the ropes with the clock winding down.  “Heartbreaker” landed a vicious left hook flush on the liver with one second remaining in the round to send Magdaleno to the canvas for the knockout, the 19th of his career.

Figueroa, the former WBA and WBC super bantamweight champion, has now won three consecutive fights since moving weight classes from super bantamweight up to  featherweight.

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McALLEN — The McAllen High Bulldogs had a chance to clinch their bi-district series against Harlingen South on Friday. That ended in a one-run extra innings loss and forced a Game 3 between the Bulldogs and Hawks on Saturday for a spot in the area round.

In Game 3 on Saturday, McHi battled its way to a 7-2 win over Harlingen South to take the three-game series 2-1 and set up a second round playoff matchup against La Joya Palmview. Area Round details are to be determined.

McHi improves to 20-12 on the year while Harlingen South’s season ends at 20-10-2.

“Our kids played well. Fernie (Olivarez) had a good outing and kept us in the game. We scored some runs there late and changed the momentum in our favor,” McHi head coach Eliseo Pompa said. “The kids have been around for a while and they know how to win. Harlingen South is a good ballclub. Anytime you play teams in the playoffs, you never know what to expect — sometimes you might have a good game, sometimes you might have a bad game — but our kids kept their composure the whole series and we came out on top.”

McHi plated two runs in both the third and fourth innings before tacking on three more during the bottom of the fifth for a commanding 7-1 lead.

The Bulldogs combined for 10 hits in Game 3 with Aaron Cortez, Austin Ramos and Luis Esquivel all with two hits apiece. Esquivel added two RBI and scored one run, while Ramos and Maddox Braxton had one RBI each.

Bulldogs’ pitcher Fernie Olivarez held the Hawks to two earned runs off eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Eric Alonzo pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief with one strikeout to close the game.

“Fernie did a good job for us today. He hadn’t gone more than four innings in about a month or so, so we just kept an eye on him and then hard Eric come in there and finish it off,” Pompa said.

Harlingen South’s Josh Ruiz led the Hawks with 2-for-4 hitting, one RBI and one run. Ayden Medrano went 2-for-2 with one walk, and Justinray Pena went 2-for-3 with one run.

The Bulldogs now shift their focus to a three-game area round playoff series against La Joya Palmview.

La Joya Palmview swept Victoria West in its bi-district series with wins of 1-0 on Thursday and 3-2 on Saturday to earn their spot in the area round against McHi.

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HARLINGEN — Harlingen South’s Joaquin Torralba hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to score Ayden Medrano and lift the Hawks over the McAllen High Bulldogs in walk-off fashion 5-4 on Friday at Harlingen South High School in Game 2 of their Region IV-5A bi-district best-of-three series. 

The series is now tied after McAllen High took Game 1 of the series 6-0 on Thursday in McAllen. Game 3 between the Hawks (20-9-2) and Bulldogs (19-12) is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at McAllen High School. 

The winner of Saturday’s Game 3 advances to the area round to face the winner between La Joya Palmview and Victoria East.

“We talked about it yesterday, it’s going to take everything we got. We got to kick, fight, scratch to get a W and we did enough to do that,” Harlingen South head coach Bryan Aughney said. “We took advantage of some mistakes that they made to plate some runs. I don’t think we were very good offensively early in the game. Ryan Porter came in and gave us everything he had to give us an opportunity and same with Aundre (Guadarrama) there late. We live to fight another day. We got to sleep fast, get rested and get ready to do it again tomorrow.”

The Bulldogs trailed 2-1 in the top of the sixth before a Max Villarreal single and Nate Zaragosa double set up a 2-run single by Maddox Braxton. Luis Esquivel followed with an RBI-double to left field to push the Bulldogs in front 4-2.

In the bottom half of the sixth, South’s AJ Serna singled and Josh Ruiz doubled to put runners on second and third. Torralba singled to shortstop to score Serna making it 4-3. Then, with two outs and runners on second and third, Justinray Pena hit an infield pop fly near the mound that was dropped and allowed another South run to come across to tie the game at 4-4 after six innings.

That led to Torralba’s walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eight to send the series to a decisive Game 3 on Saturday.

“It was just about going up there and competing,” Torralba said. “As I’m walking up, I just took a deep breath and cleansed my mind because keeping things simple is the best thing to do in baseball. I was just looking for my pitch — breathe, swing, see it, watch it happen and have fun.”

South pitcher Ryan Porter surrendered four earned runs off 10 hits and no walks while striking out three. Guadarrama earned the win with two perfect innings of relief with one strikeout. Ruiz led the Hawks with 3-for-5 hitting and two runs scored. Torralba finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and Medrano also drove in a run.

McHi’s Austin Ramos gave up four runs, none earned, off six hits and one walk while striking out eight in six innings. Braxton finished 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead McHi offensively. Villarreal and Esquivel also had two hits apiece.

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McALLEN — The McAllen Memorial Mustangs scored ten unanswered runs to take down Brownsville Porter 10-2 in Game 1 of their Region IV-5A bi-district playoff series Thursday at McAllen Memorial High School.

Porter (19-6-1) plated the first two runs of the game with a leadoff triple by Omar Banda, a run on a throwing error and an RBI-single by Ivan Torres.

After that, however, it was all Mustangs.

McAllen Memorial (19-11) went on to score runs in each of the next five innings, including three in both the bottom of the fourth and bottom of the sixth.

“We might have come out a little nervous. It’s been a while since this team has been in the playoffs experience-wise, but we knew we could hit the ball so we knew we’d be alright,” Memorial head coach Roque Cortinas said.

Mustangs left-handed pitcher David An locked in and allowed just one hit after a two-run first. He gave up three hits and walked five while striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings.

“I felt my mechanics a little off in the first inning. I fixed it during the warmup pitches and ever since that it was coming off good off my hand,” An said. “I think our team came through. We played as a team and everyone did their job.”

First baseman Eloy Lozano went 4-for-4 at the plate with two RBI and one run scored to lead the Mustangs offensively. Erik Serrano finished 2-for-3 with one RBI, one walk and three runs. Jose Rivera, Emilio Preza, Daniel Flores and Gael Aguirre all drove in one run each for Memorial.

“I think once someone hits, the whole team gets started. It’s one hit after another — that motivation of if one person gets a hit, another person gets a hit,” Lozano said.

Banda, Torres and Gael Franco had Porter’s three hits on the evening. 

Game 2 between the Mustangs and Cowboys is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Brownsville Porter High School. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at McAllen Memorial.

“They got a real good pitcher left in Banda, so it’s going to be tough at their house. We got (Manuel) Villa on the mound, he’s been a big-time pitcher for us all year, so we like our chances,” Cortinas said.

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