LA JOYA — Ethan Moya was the focus of each defense he faced every time he stepped on the court for La Joya High.

A 6-foot-1-inch guard who can score with the best, rebound with the biggest and pass with the flashiest, while also making game-changing blocks and steals on the other end of the floor, Moya found a way to dice up opponents night in and night out en route to leading La Joya to its second district championship in three years.

“It’s great knowing that I earned the respect of other coaches and players, and it challenged me. I was always wanting to prove everyone wrong, to show them that La Joya wasn’t a pushover in basketball,” he said. “I loved being the center of attention because I knew I could handle it and do what I’m supposed to do every night. I knew I had to show up every game if we wanted to win.”

He was a sophomore starter on the Coyotes’ 2020-21 team that ended a 16-year district title drought. After a standout senior season leading the Coyotes to another District 31-6A championship, Moya is The Monitor’s 2022-23 All-Area Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“I know it’s gotten hard at times, but I’ve always stayed true to who I am and put the work in, and it’s paid off now,” he said.

Moya helped the Coyotes finish the year 25-13 overall and split the 31-6A championship three ways with Edinburg High and Edinburg North in a top-heavy district.

He averaged 20.9 points per game, 6.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.7 steals and 0.6 blocks. Moya finished his four-year career with the Coyotes with 1,990 points, 709 rebounds, 360 assists, 260 steals and 128 blocks.

More importantly to Moya, La Joya qualified for the playoffs in each of his four years and added two district titles, winning 87 games during that span.

“I know starting off at La Joya, we weren’t really known to be a basketball school, but over the years you could see the amount of fans start to grow and the difference in pride for basketball. The energy, the excitement when basketball season came around, it was a fun four years,” he said.

Moya was also voted District 31-6A’s Most Valuable Player and the Rio Grande Valley Basketball Coaches Association Most Valuable Player.

“(Ethan’s) main thing has always been working hard and being committed to the sport, and that’s what he’s done,” La Joya High head coach Eric Montalvo said. “On the court, he’s our leader. He understands that they’re going to come after him as far as defenses are concerned. He understands that, he’s ready to take that challenge and he’s worked hard. He’s the kid that everyone wants to coach. He’s your best player, but you can coach him hard and he’s going to respond and he’s going to work hard. He’s a perfect example of what we want for every kid to be like here in our program.”

[email protected]

An icon, legend and fixture of the Rio Grande Valley sports scene is how longtime KRGV sports anchor, sports director and special contributor Dave Brown will be remembered.

Brown, who died Monday in Brownsville, spent over 40 years covering sports across the Valley before ultimately retiring from KRGV in December 2020.

“There’s not too many of us that were around at the time, probably a handful, that were coaches with Dave Brown and the coverage he gave us and our athletes. You know how special Rio Grande Valley football is, it’s something special, and Dave Brown had a big part of what Rio Grande Valley football is about because of the exposure he gave our athletes,” PSJA ISD athletic director and former PSJA North football head coach Orlando Garcia said. “We relied on information that he was putting out there. You’d watch the newscast at night to see who’s doing good, get any information you can get and learn about teams and learn about athletes because he did a great job of giving exposure to athletes in the Rio Grande Valley.”

His coverage of high school football kept the excitement going from the field to the closest television for highlights Friday nights. He introduced segments like 60 Sports Seconds and Dave’s Dozen, weekly high school football rankings of the area’s top teams, which became must-see mainstays on channel 5 for coaches, fans and players alike.

“Growing up, he was the face of Valley sports. He was our Chris Berman here in the RGV before ESPN,” Sharyland ISD athletic director and former Sharyland High football head coach Ron Adame said. “One of the first things that comes to my mind is Dave’s Dozen with his top 12 teams. It was a very hard list to get on and you knew you had a good team if you made it on his list and that’s what most people watched. You could tell he was very passionate about what he did and a good journalist.”

Brown’s creativity and delivery was something others in sports media attempted to emulate. His impact reached beyond the high school sports scene, as well, by broadcasting games as the voice of University of Texas-Pan American basketball.

“He was a legend in the Rio Grande Valley sportscape, best known for his contributions at KRGV being the guy you’d watch to see what happened in sports that day,” UTRGV senior associate athletic director for communications and championships Jonah Goldberg said. “He was a giant in the industry here in the Valley and I really appreciated his point of view, the way he presented things and the way he did his job.”

[email protected]

EDINBURG — The building of UTRGV football has taken place off the field thus far as head coach Travis Bush and staff put together the first team in program history, set to begin competing at the Division I level in 2025.

That changed Saturday as UTRGV partnered with Texas A&M-Kingsville to host a football camp for prospective players at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg. The camp, which had north of 150 high school student-athletes participating, served as the first day the UTRGV staff was able to hit the football field, an early preview of the practices to come as the Vaqueros ultimately gear up for kickoff in just more than two years.

The camp started with timed 40-yard dashes before breaking into positional drills. Offensive and defensive linemen then practiced against each other on one end of the field, while quarterbacks threw passes to skill position players against linebackers and defensive backs in 1-on-1s.

“I just talked to one of the student-athletes out there and I said, ‘I’m just happy to be outside.’ We haven’t been outside since our last football game,” said Bush, who was hired as UTRGV’s first head coach in December 2022 after serving as head coach at New Braunfels Canyon High School. “We didn’t have spring ball or offseason, things like that, so it’s good to be out here and hear the whistles blowing, and watching kids and coaching. It’s good to be out here and see the numbers of young men that decided to get better today, to come out here and work instead of staying home and doing other things, so we’re excited about the number of guys that are out here.”

TAMUK has hosted summer camps in the Rio Grande Valley in recent years, with a former RGV football product leading the Javelinas’ football program.

Edinburg High alumnus Michael Salinas, who also played football at TAMUK in addition to head coaching stops at Edinburg Vela and Weslaco High, is entering his fourth year as head coach at A&M-Kingsville.

Salinas agreed to a contract extension Jan. 5 to stay on as head coach of the Javelinas through the 2026 season. He led the Javelinas to a 7-5 record and a postseason appearance last year, the program’s most successful season since 2016.

The camp, run by TAMUK, served as an opportunity for both the TAMUK and UTRGV coaching staffs to get a closer look at players aiming to play college football.

“I think you said the right word, partnership, and I think this is something that is going to continue in the future,” Bush said. “Coach Mike Salinas is a good friend of mine. He’s been a mentor of mine, we’ve known each other since we were kids, our dads both coached down here, so there’s no reason we can’t have a partnership moving forward. I think you’ll see the UTRGV and A&M-Kingsville camp continue in the future down here, working together. We’ve got a great opportunity to evaluate the local guys and get some guys out here and their families to meet us for the first time.”

UTRGV will continue camp season with stops at Texas State and Texas-San Antonio on June 1, Houston on June 2, SMU on June 3 and TCU on June 4.

“We’re going to get around the state, we’ve got five camps in four days starting Thursday,” Bush said. “We’ll be in Central Texas, Houston, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with a chance to evaluate a lot of different guys in the state.”

The recruiting process is well underway for UTRGV football as Bush and the current staff — defensive coordinator Brian Gamble, defensive backs coach Adrian McDonald, offensive line coach Jeff Bowen — traveled across the state from mid-April through May making stops at high schools in search of prospective players from the 2024 and 2025 classes. Their search began with stops across the Rio Grande Valley.

“The biggest thing is getting that brand, getting that name out there, and we were pleasantly enthused about the response we got from the rest of the state,” Bush said. “We thought maybe people in the northern part of the state didn’t know, but they knew about us and they heard about us and they’re excited about another Division I opportunity in Texas for Texas high school student-athletes.”

[email protected]

LAREDO — PSJA High gave the eighth-ranked team in Class 6A, San Antonio Johnson, all it could handle in all three games of their Region IV-6A semifinal series, but the Bears ran out of gas in the deciding Game 3, falling 8-5 on Friday at Veterans Field in Laredo.

PSJA High’s season ends at 28-10 overall with the program’s first regional semifinal appearance since 2004. San Antonio Johnson (33-5-2) moves on to face Austin Westlake in the Region IV-6A final next week.

“We had opportunities. I just love the way my kids battled — they battled back to the very end,” PSJA High head coach Marco Guajardo said. “They never gave up. We had opportunities, we left runners on base with nobody out and that was a big turning point of that game right there. That hurt us, but it’s baseball. I told the kids not to dwell on any negative. Just the fact that we were here is a big success, so I’m proud of them and what they did to battle all the way through.”

The Bears led the Jaguars 5-3 entering the bottom of the fifth before costly mistakes turned the tides. Three hits, three errors and a hit batter led to a five-run fifth inning and an 8-5 lead for San Antonio Johnson.

During the top half of the fifth, PSJA put runners on second and third with one out but ended the frame with no runs. A diving catch in left field by San Antonio Johnson for out No. 3 gave the Jaguars some momentum, and they took full advantage in the bottom half of the inning.

PSJA High’s scoring came on a Jaime Lopez two-run home run during the top of the second to give the Bears a 2-1 lead.

PSJA plated two more runs during the third after back-to-back singles by Charlie Zamaripa and Julius Ramirez led to errors at shortstop and third base off ground balls by Vinny Cano and Diego Gomez to make it 4-2 in favor of PSJA. Lopez then led off the top of the fourth with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and took third on a wild pitch before a Jai Arenas base hit brought him home for a 5-3 Bears lead.

In Game 2, the Jaguars jumped on the Bears with a 4-0 lead before a Diego Gomez two-run homer cut the lead in half. It wasn’t enough, however, as the Bears dropped the middle game of the series 4-2 to force Game 3. PSJA won Game 1 on Thursday, 5-4.

PSJA High finishes the year as District 31-6A co-champions with three playoff series wins led by a strong senior group that helped continue the winning tradition, setting up the underclassmen to carry it on.

“Those guys are going to be real tough to replace. They brought us a long ways and hit the ball all year long,” Guajardo said. “They’ve done a tremendous job. I like the way they took the leadership role, and taught the younger guys what to do and gave them a great experience. I challenged the younger guys to follow their footsteps. They’re going to be hard to replace, but the younger ones will step it up and keep it going the next few years.”

[email protected]

The PSJA High Bears won a back-and-forth battle in Game 1 of their Region IV-6A semifinal best-of-three playoff series 5-4 against San Antonio Johnson on Thursday at Veterans Field in Laredo. The Bears (28-8) lead the series 1-0 against the Jaguars (31-5-2).

Tied at 4 in the top of the sixth, Austin Flores got things started with a leadoff single, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a base hit to center field by Jai Arenas for the 5-4 final.

Jacob Delgadillo picked up the win as he entered in the bottom of the sixth and pitched two shutout innings, capping things off with a strikeout for the final out of the game.

The Bears drew first blood in the first with back-to-back singles by Charlie Zamaripa and Juilus Ramirez. A bunt by Vinny Cano down the third base line moved the runners to second and third, but the throw to first hit Cano in the back and allowed one run to cross the plate for a 1-0 lead.

PSJA added to its lead with back-to-back jacks during the third on a two-run home run by Andy Gamboa and solo blast by Diego Gomez to go up 4-0.

Johnson scored two runs in the third and fifth to work their way back into the game before PSJA High pulled ahead for good in the sixth.

“We just never stopped fighting. Fight is there, they believe that we can get it done,” PSJA High head coach Marco Guajardo said. “They have no doubts and are playing right now with a chip on their shoulder. The two home runs were big and gave us some momentum. Charlie didn’t have his best stuff but he got the job done and Jacob came in and shut it down.”

Game 2 between PSJA High and San Antonio Johnson is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday at Veterans Field in Laredo. Game 3, if necessary, will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2.

CLASS 5A

LEANDER ROUSE 4, LA JOYA PALMVIEW 2: At Jourdanton, the Lobos fell short in Game 1 of their Region IV-5A semifinal best-of-three playoff series on Thursday at Jourdanton High School. The Raiders lead the series 1-0.

Trailing 4-2 during the bottom of the sixth, Palmview (28-9) plated two runs as Anakin Robles was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Renso Tamez followed with an RBI groundout.

Leandre Rouse (21-10-1) did its damage with an RBI double during the top of the first, a solo home run during the top of the third, and two more runs during the fourth.

Palmview’s Mateo Garcia finished 2-for-4 at the plate and pitched a complete game, allowing three earned runs off seven hits and one walk, striking out six.

Game 2 between the Lobos and Raiders is set for 4 p.m. Friday at Coastal Bend College in Beeville. Game 3, if necessary, will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2.

[email protected]

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%.”

[email protected]

SAN JUAN — The PSJA High baseball team had the Tri-City area rocking last Friday as the Bears won a pair of regional quarterfinal playoff games against Laredo United on their home turf at C.V. Cain Field to earn their spot in the Sweet 16 for the first time in nearly 20 years.

“It’s been special doing something that hasn’t been done since 2004, to have that extra Monday (of practice) and keep striving with my boys,” PSJA High senior catcher and UTRGV baseball signee Julius Ramirez said.

Now, the Bears (27-8) are set to take their show on the road for a three-game Region IV-6A semifinal playoff series against San Antonio Johnson (31-4-2), beginning with Game 1 tonight at Veterans Field in Laredo. Game 2 is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday at Veterans Field in Laredo. Game 3, if necessary, will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2.

PSJA High’s Andy Gamboa (10) position himself during a pitch against Los Fresnos in a game at PSJA High School on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in San Juan. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez

“It’s win-or-go-home, so we’re out here trying our best to keep this thing going,” senior infielder Andy Gamboa said.

Whether up on the scoreboard or on the losing end in late innings, this Bears team has battled its way into Round 4 with its back against the wall to become one of 16 teams left in Class 6A with a shot at a state championship. Their senior core of Gamboa, Ramirez, Austin Flores and Diego Gomez has been pivotal in this team’s success.

“I remember playing with or against these guys when I was 8 or 9 back in coach pitch. Playing with Julius, Austin, Andy, that’s been, like, our core group since middle school really and we’re a real tight-knit group, and I think that’s helped us on this run,” said Gomez, a UTRGV baseball signee. “Here where we’re at, this is exactly what we knew we were capable of.”

PSJA High’s Diego Gomez (11) carries the ball back to first base after a hit by Laredo United in a Region IV-6A quarterfinal series game 1 on Friday, May 19, 2023, in San Juan. (Joel Martinez |[email protected]) Joel Martinez

After sweeping San Benito in Round 1, the Bears needed a Game 3 victory against Laredo Alexander to get past Round 2. PSJA trailed 1-0 entering the fifth inning of the deciding Game 3 before putting up a five-spot to punch its ticket to Round 3. In Game 1 of last week’s regional quarterfinals, the Bears scored eight runs across the sixth and seventh innings to surge past United, then demolished the Longhorns in Game 2 to advance to the regional semis for the first time in nearly 20 years.

PSJA High’s Jaime Lopez (8) hits against La Joya High in a District 31-6A game at C.V. Cain Field on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in McAllen. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez

“They’re just enjoying the ride, and they have the mentality right now that they can beat anybody,” PSJA head coach Marco Guajardo said. “Then again, we tell them every team is tough in the Sweet 16. You don’t get there by accident, so we just have to be ready for anything. You never know what’s going to happen, and that’s why we play the game.”

PSJA High’s Diego Gomez (11) carries the ball back to first base after a hit by Laredo United in a Region IV-6A quarterfinal series game 1 on Friday, May 19, 2023, in San Juan. (Joel Martinez |[email protected]) Joel Martinez

Awaiting PSJA High in the regional semifinals is San Antonio Johnson, the eighth-ranked team in Class 6A, according to the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association’s May 8 poll.

The Johnson Jaguars made their way to the regional semis by sweeping New Braunfels and Austin Bowie in Rounds 1 and 2, then winning a three-game battle against Lake Travis in Round 3.

PSJA’s Ramirez feels the Bears are up to the challenge.

The senior slugger entered the postseason batting .545 with eight home runs and 45 RBIs. His ninth home run of the year came on a 1-1 count in the bottom of the first inning of Game 2 against Laredo United and sparked the Bears’ 9-1 blowout to lead the team into Round 4.

“Our mentality is we’re not going to back down. We’re confident, we got faith in each other and we’re going to stay together,” Ramirez said. “People are saying, ‘We’re the underdogs, we got nothing to lose.’ I don’t really care about that. We’re going to go up there and do what we need to do.”

“This is history. We haven’t been in this round since 2004, and we want to keep it going,” Gomez said.

[email protected]

The UTRGV baseball team is riding a wave of momentum into this year’s Western Athletic Conference Tournament after sweeping Stephen F. Austin in a must-win situation last weekend.

The Vaqueros needed to win their three-game series against Stephen F. Austin in order to earn their way into this week’s WAC Tournament. UTRGV proceeded to blast 12 home runs across 24 innings to take all three games, outscoring SFA 44-9, and punched its ticket to the conference tournament for the fourth consecutive season.

Now, the No. 7-seeded Vaqueros (29-24, 15-14 WAC) open WAC Tournament play against No. 6 Texas-Arlington (26-27, 16-14 WAC) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona, the spring training home of the Oakland Athletics.

The winner between UTRGV and UT-Arlington (UTA) faces No. 2 Sam Houston at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The loser heads into an elimination game at 2 p.m. Wednesday against the loser between No. 5 Abilene Christian and No. 8 California Baptist.

“I think in the past, we’ve kind of tippy-toed in here not really knowing what to expect, but we’ve played for a championship once. It’s time to just take one game at a time, one inning at a time and just fight our way to the end of this thing,” UTRGV head coach Derek Matlock said.

UTRGV faced UT-Arlington in a three-game series in Arlington on April 28-30, losing the series 2-1. The Vaqueros took the middle game against the Mavericks with an 11-2 victory. UTRGV dropped Game 1 12-5 and Game 3 against UTA 8-7.

“I think it all comes down to starting pitching. (Angelo) Cabral has got to get off to a good start and get in routine and get some feel with his breaking ball and get going, and our offense has got to do what it’s done,” Matlock said. “We got to get in there and swing at strikes and compete.”

ALL-WAC BASEBALL HONORS

Three Vaqueros earned all-conference honors led by Pimentel, who was named to the All-WAC First Team and WAC All-Defensive Team.

Pimentel, who was named D1Baseball and Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Week and the WAC Hitter of the Week on Monday, is hitting .401 with 18 home runs, eight doubles, 69 RBIs, 48 runs scored and nine stolen bases. His 69 RBIs lead the WAC.

Pimentel powered his way atop the all-time home run leaderboard at UTRGV with 30 homers during his two years with the Vaqueros. His 18 this season is the third-highest single-season total in program history.

“It’s a blessing just being able to work with these guys everyday and for them to push me all year, so I’m happy for that,” said Pimentel. “I’ve just stayed with my process, being the same guy everyday and going to work with the same mentality.”

Junior pitcher Angelo Cabral earned a spot on the All-WAC Second Team. Cabral is 9-2 with a save and a 3.39 ERA. In 13 games (11 starts), Cabral has pitched 66 1/3 innings, striking out 71, while allowing just 58 hits and 19 walks. Opponents are batting .237 off him.

During WAC play, Cabral went 6-2 with a 3.93 ERA. In nine starts, he pitched 52.2 innings, striking out 48 while allowing 52 hits and 13 walks. Opponents hit .261 off him.

Edinburg Vela alumnus Isaac Lopez, a redshirt sophomore second-baseman, landed on the WAC All-Defensive Team.

This is the second-straight season in which Lopez is part of the WAC All-Defensive team after earning the honor as the starting shortstop last season.

During WAC play, Lopez posted a .978 fielding percentage, committing three errors in 139 chances while recording 45 putouts and 91 assists in 30 games as the starting second baseman. He was also part of turning 35 double plays.

Overall, Lopez posted a .986 fielding percentage, committing three errors in 217 chances while recording 76 putouts and 138 assists in 52 games. He was also part of turning 44 double plays.

“They deserve it and I’m excited for those kids. It’s a good representation for UTRGV baseball,” Matlock said.

McHI ALUM IMPRESSES IN FIRST DI START

McAllen High alumnus Abanny Garcia spent his freshman season with UTRGV in 2019 before transferring to play his next three years at Texas A&M-International, a Division II school in Laredo. He made his way back on the UTRGV baseball roster as a graduate student for the 2023 season and made a statement in his first Division I start of his collegiate baseball career.

Garcia started Game 2 for UTRGV against Stephen F. Austin this past Friday and struck out five while allowing just one run off three hits and two walks across seven innings. The Vaqueros won the game 15-1 in seven innings by 10-run rule, giving Garcia his first career win at the Division I level.

He’s struck out 16 in 22 innings pitched this season and holds a 3.68 ERA.

[email protected]

A pair of Rio Grande Valley mixed martial artists picked up victories at UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Hill on Saturday at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Weslaco native Gilbert “The RGV Bad Boy” Urbina won his fight with a second-round TKO of Orion Cosce on the prelims with a dominant round and a half in their welterweight bout.

Urbina used his size and grappling to take Round 1. In Round 2, he landed a right body kick to Cosce’s midsection which sent the him backing towards the cage. Urbina followed with a flying knee and landed another knee against the cage, sending his opponent crumbling to the canvas 2:55 into second round.

Gilbert Urbina was locked and loaded for the TKO 👀 #UFCVegas73 pic.twitter.com/ikCRXq2hph

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 20, 2023

Urbina improved to 7-2 overall as a pro.

Brazilian fighter Diego Ferreira, who owns a gym and trains out of Pharr, opened the main card with a bang as he scored a devastating second-round TKO with an overhand right that connected with Michael Johnson’s jaw, putting him to sleep before he hit the mat. The TKO came 1:50 into the second round of their lightweight contest.

DIEGO FERREIRA PUT MICHAEL JOHNSON TO SLEEP 😱 #UFCVegas73 pic.twitter.com/JyrHgkGo8N

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 20, 2023

The win sends Ferreira to 18-5 overall as a pro.

[email protected]

EDINBURG — La Joya Palmview is moving on to the regional semifinals for the first time in program history after defeating Edinburg Vela 7-0 in Game 2 of their Region IV-5A quarterfinal playoff series Saturday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.

The Lobos won Game 1 on Friday, 6-5, to clinch the series sweep and their spot in the fourth round.

“This is a special group of young men. Some of them have been on the varsity for three and four years, and it’s always been a special group,” Palmview head coach Rick Garcia said. “I keep on saying they have become a different breed of ball players and we’ve been suprising people throughout the season. They’re a great ball club and great kids, but we’re not done yet. We got to prepare and see what happens from here on out.”

La Joya Palmview (29-8) will meet Leander Rouse (18-10-1) in next week’s Region IV-5A semifinals. Game details are to be determined. Edinburg Vela’s season comes to an end at 25-12 overall.

Scoreless through the first four innings, La Joya Palmview changed that with a four-run fifth inning as an error, double and walk loaded the bases with one out. Renso Tamez, Joe Cerda, Mateo Garcia and Gael Gonzalez followed with back-to-back RBIs to draw first blood and take a commanding lead.

“It was a lot of hard work. We knew we had the team, the chemistry was there. We knew we had the grit and the strength,” Gael Gonzalez said. “We knew that nothing could stop us, we just had to be ourselves and play our game. We just had to come through.”

Palmview added another run with a double steal during the sixth, and Josiah Gonzalez and Chris Perez drove in two more during the seventh.

Palmview pitcher Herminio Gonzalez pitched a shutout in 6 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

This was Palmview’s fifth trip to the regional quarterfinals and first time to breakthrough to the regional semis.

“From the start of the season, we knew were a talented group. At the start of the playoffs, we wanted to leave a legacy and something that future high school baseball players at Palmview could look up to and tonight we made history,” Herminio Gonzalez said.

Edinburg Vela had six hits but couldn’t generate runs due to Gonzalez’s pitching and the Palmview defense. SaberCats starter Jake Dufner allowed one earned run off seven hits and three walks, striking out two.

“We knew it was going to come down to whoever blinked first and that’s exactly what happened. We blinked and they took advantage of us and really took it to us, but it’s baseball. It is what it is,” Edinburg Vela head coach Jaime Perez said.

[email protected]