EDINBURG — The La Joya Palmview Lobos trailed on the scoreboard and were down to their last three outs for their second straight playoff game.

The Lobos, once again, were unfazed.

La Joya Palmview loaded the bases and plated two runs during the bottom of the seventh inning off an RBI single by Mateo Garcia and a walk-off RBI single by Josiah Gonzalez to stun Edinburg Vela 6-5 in Game 1 of their Region IV-5A quarterfinal playoff series at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.

La Joya Palmview (28-8) takes a 1-0 lead over Edinburg Vela (25-11) in their best-of-three third-round series.

La Joya Palmview teammates celebrates after their victory against Edinburg Vela 6-5 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

Game 2 is scheduled for 5 p.m. today at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. Game 3, if necessary, will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game coming in. They’re a great ballclub with a great coaching staff, and this series is not over by a mile,” Palmview head coach Rick Garcia said. “We still have to play them again, and it’s not over til it’s over. We have to keep ourselves humble and keep ourselves prepared for (today), and be ready to do what we need to do.”

Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh, Palmview loaded the bases with a leadoff walk, a hit batter, a sacrifice bunt that moved them to second and third, and an intentional walk. Mateo Garcia singled up the middle to tie the game at 5 with one out. After a flyout to right field, Josiah Gonzalez knocked in the game-winning run with a base hit to left field.

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

“We believed in each other, we have faith in each other and we trusted each other,” Gonzalez said. “When I was going up to bat, our third baseman said, ‘I believe in you,’ and I knew when he said it, he meant it. I knew I had to execute and I had to try my best.”

Palmview’s Joe Cerda finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs, one run and one intentional walk. Gonzalez drove in two on 1-for-3 hitting and Garcia went 1-for-4 with the game-tying RBI. Derek Garza earned the win with two strikeouts during the top of the seventh in relief for Garcia.

La Joya Palmview’s Mateo Garcia (17) pitches against Edinburg Vela 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

Izzy Perez led Edinburg Vela with a 2-for-2 day with two RBIs. Jake Dufner, Luke Esparza and AJ Reyes had one RBI apiece. Dufner also finished with three runs scored.

Edinburg Vela’s Jake Dufner (21) celebrate his hit on first base against La Joya Palmview 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

SaberCats pitcher Santiago Montes pitched six innings and gave up two earned runs off five hits and one walk, striking out five.

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EDINBURG — One Rio Grande Valley high school baseball team is guaranteed a spot in the Sweet 16 as Edinburg Vela and La Joya Palmview square off in a best-of-three Region IV-5A quarterfinal playoff series beginning tonight at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.

Game 1 between the Palmview Lobos (27-8) and Vela SaberCats (26-10) is scheduled for 7 tonight. Game 2 will be played at 5 p.m. Saturday. Game 3, if necessary, will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2. All three games will be played at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.

“(La Joya Palmview) is coached well and very prepared. They have a lot of hard throwers, throw a lot of strikes, put the ball in play — they do a lot of things really, really well,” Edinburg Vela head coach Jaime Perez said. “Our job as a staff is trying to find what we can capitalize on, but I don’t know, they don’t have a lot of holes in that lineup in that organization right now, but Rick Garcia does a real good job with his preparation and so do we. Friday night we’re going to find out. They’re guessing who we’re throwing, we’re guessing who they’re throwing. I think it’s going to be a good cat and mouse game. I think it’s going to be a really good series.”

“Edinburg Vela has a great coaching staff and great ballplayers,” Palmview head coach Rick Garcia said. “We scrimmaged them early in the year, and we knew they were going to be tough throughout the season and were in a tough district. There’s a lot of respect for them, the type of ballplayers they have and they type of coaches they have. I think we’re both ready to play a great series.”

LOBOS LIVING LARGE

Back-to-back District 30-5A champion La Joya Palmview ran into a first-round wall in both 2021 and 2022 with bi-district playoff matchups against state-ranked Coastal Bend squads.

“It gave us a lot of motivation. It lit a fire in us,” Josiah Gonzalez said.

This year, Palmview broke that wall down with a bi-district sweep of Corpus Christi King. The Lobos won Game 1, 9-5, and Game 2, 3-2 in 10 innings off a walk-off RBI single by Mateo Garcia.

In Round 2, La Joya Palmview played three close games against Sharyland Pioneer and used a three-run rally during the bottom of the seventh inning to win Game 3, 3-2, sending the Lobos back to the regional quarterfinals for the first time since 2019. It’s the fifth time in program history Palmview has reached Round 3.

“We’re going to go out and give it our all. After losing in the first round the last two years to coming back this year and upsetting every team we’ve played, it’s been amazing,” junior Joe Cerda said.

Palmview enters the regional quarterfinals as winners of 12 of their last 13 games, and after pulling off the late-game stunner against Sharyland Pioneer, they’re ready for another best-of-three battle against Edinburg Vela.

“We’re never going to quit fighting. We’re never going to give up,” Tony Villarreal said. “We’re going to keep on fighting down to our last three outs, until the blue says ballgame.”

SAME OL’ SABERCATS

Edinburg Vela is back in the regional quarterfinal round of the playoffs for the fifth straight year and is yet to lose a game this postseason.

“The standard has been set before us, so we try to live up to that every year,” senior Justin Navarro said. “The whole year, we’ve been playing for each other, playing for our seniors. Our motto is, ‘Play for the name on the front, not the name on the back,’ and that’s helped us a lot and we’re getting hot right now.”

The SaberCats finished as the No. 3 seed from District 31-5A and earned a first-round matchup against Brownsville Veterans. Edinburg Vela swept the Chargers with wins of 7-3 and 3-1.

That set up a best-of-three area-round playoff series against Class 5A’s fourth-ranked team, Corpus Christi Veterans, last week. The SaberCats only needed two games, however, pulling off their second consecutive sweep of the postseason with 6-4 and 7-1 victories.

The SaberCats have a blend of experienced upperclassmen that have Round 3 playoff experience and a group of young guns that have grown throughout the season to create a team peaking at the right time.

“The team chemistry has grown so much from the beginning of the season, just learning to play together and not play alone. This is a team game, and we all rely on each other to come out victorious,” senior Bobby Garcia said.

Senior pitcher Jake Dufner missed his junior season due to a shoulder injury and had to watch as the SaberCats advanced to Round 3, where they lost to La Joya High in three games, ending their 2022 campaign. He’s back, healthy and helped Edinburg Vela advance to the regional quarterfinals with a complete-game performance in Game 2, giving up one earned run off four hits and four walks against Corpus Christi Veterans. He hopes the SaberCats can break through to the regional semifinal round for the first time since 2018.

“It was honestly one of the worst feelings I’ve ever experienced in my life, sitting down and not being able to play the sport I love, but it feels great to be back this year and being able to contribute and help my team get past this hump, and hopefully be able to get to the fourth round this year,” Dufner said. “This year, I feel like it’s the year we have a chance.”

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PSJA High and Laredo United were locked in a one-run game during the top of the seventh inning of Game 1 of their Region IV-6A quarterfinal playoff series when a lightning delay brought things to a halt Thursday night at Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo.

The game will be resumed at 5 p.m. today at PSJA High School in San Juan.

Game 2 will follow at 6 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 4 p.m. Saturday at Roma High School in Roma.

PSJA had its chances across the first five innings, but the threats with runners in scoring position came with two outs and ended with no damage for Laredo United.

That was until the sixth inning.

Diego Gomez’s leadoff double put him at second and Jaime Lopez singled to make it a 3-1 game. Lopez advanced to third off two United errors and scored on a wild pitch to bring it to 3-2 through six.

In the top of the seventh, a Vinny Cano walk, Andy Gamboa single and Diego Gomez walk set up Austin Flores’ two-run single with one out to push PSJA High ahead 4-3. The game will be resumed with the Bears at-bat with one out and runners on first and second in the top of the seventh.

CLASS 3A

CORPUS CHRISTI LONDON 5, RIO HONDO 1: At San Diego, Rio Hondo dropped its one-game Region IV-3A quarterfinal playoff against Corpus Christi London, the defending Class 3A state champion and top-ranked team in 3A at San Diego High School.

The Bobcats put together their best record in program history at 28-3 and reached the regional quarterfinal round of the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Cesar Perea was hit by a pitch with two outs in the top of the third and Roman Perez followed with a walk. After Perea advanced to third on a wild pitch, Aidyn Flores singled to left field to bring him home for Rio Hondo’s only run.

Corpus Christi London (29-3) did its damage with a two-run first and one run in the second, third and fifth innings.

Rio Hondo senior pitcher Caleb Laster entered the game leading the nation in strikeouts with 166, according to Maxpreps, and struck out another four against the top-ranked Pirates.

SAN JUAN — The PSJA High Bears have battled their way into the Region IV-6A quarterfinal round of the playoffs for the first time since 2012. That was head coach Marco Guajardo’s first year at the helm of the program.

With the Bears back in Round 3 for the first time in 11 seasons, the PSJA High head coach said he sees similarities in this year’s team that he saw in the ‘12 group.

“That year, we had some really good senior leadership that really helped the team. Everybody was playing together and helping each other out — that’s what I see from this team,” Guajardo said. “We’ve got some of the older guys that have really taken a leadership role, helping the younger ones, picking them up when they’re down, so the team has been really together and I think that’s a big part of the success we’ve had.”

A team with a strong core of upperclassmen that has already broken through the area-round barrier will attempt to keep its season alive as the Bears (24-5) begin a best-of-three playoff series against Laredo United (15-17) with a spot in next week’s regional semifinal round on the line.

The first pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for 6 p.m. today at Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo. PSJA High will host Game 2 at 6 p.m. Friday at C.V. Cain Baseball Field at PSJA High School in San Juan. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 4 p.m. Saturday at Roma High School in Roma.

“Senior year, we’ve been trying to get here the past four years, and we’re finally here,” senior left-handed pitcher Austin Flores said. “I feel like this is the team to do it. We can keep the tides rolling, keep on going. We have a strong pitching staff, strong bats and an even stronger defense, so I feel like we got a lot going right now.”

The Bears battled through a tough three-game area-round playoff series against Laredo Alexander to set up the Round 3 series against United. PSJA High won Game 1, 3-0, then lost Game 2, 8-4. In Game 3, the Bears had just one hit during the first five innings and were losing 1-0 before rallying with a five-run sixth inning that lifted PSJA High to victory and into the regional quarterfinal round.

“All season, we’ve shown some fight here and there, but I wouldn’t really say that was our strong point. We usually got up early (in games), but it was good to know with our backs against the wall, we were able to come through as a team,” junior left-handed pitcher Vinny Cano said. “If one guy didn’t produce, the other guy was there to back him up, and it’s a good feeling knowing we have a group of guys that can accomplish that.”

The District 31-6A co-champion Bears are now focused on a Laredo United squad that swept Los Fresnos in the area round with scores of 4-1 and 7-6. PSJA High played Laredo United on the last day of the 2023 Calallen Invitational Tournament in March and lost 12-0.

Those early season, last-day tournament scores have been thrown out the window, however, as it now comes down to a three-game series for a spot in the Sweet 16.

“We know it’s going to be an extremely competitive series. They have a great squad and a great program, so we know it’s not going to be easy,” senior UTRGV signee Diego Gomez said. “We have to play our best baseball in Game 1, Game 2 and maybe Game 3. This is the playoffs, and anything can happen. We know that if we come in here and do the things we’ve done all year, we’ll be just fine.”

A third-round playoff series win would send PSJA High into the regional semifinal round for the first time since 2004.

“We didn’t have the best preseason, people doubted us, so it’s good to know we’ve accomplished something that hasn’t been done in 11 years, but this isn’t the end,” Cano said. “This was an expectation this year. The goal is fourth round, fifth round.”

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RIO HONDO — The Rio Hondo Bobcats have played 30 games this season. They’ve won 28 of them, making their 28-2 overall mark the best in program history.

And the Bobcats aren’t done yet.

“We’ve been on an amazing journey, and God has put us on that journey and our boys have worked very hard,” Rio Hondo head coach Sergio Gonzalez said. “It didn’t come overnight. We were on a two-year plan after COVID, and all the struggles we’ve had the last couple years has only made us stronger. We knew this year would line up correctly and everything would be on our side. These boys went out there and worked hard, were able to win 28 out of 30 games this year, and that’s such an amazing feat for our Rio Hondo baseball program.”

Rio Hondo is now ready to make its first regional quarterfinal playoff appearance since 2007 after taking down Taft 1-0 in last week’s area round.

“Coach put together a plan, we all started developing as a team and it all led to this year. Luckily it was my senior year, we all came together and all the pieces, all the Legos, fit together, and now we’re the best team in program history,” four-year letterman Roman Perez said.

The Rio Grande Valley’s only sub-5A squad to advance past the area round this season, Rio Hondo faces a tough task in Round 3 as the Bobcats take on defending state champion and No. 1 Corpus Christi London in a win-or-go-home one-game playoff.

The Region IV-3A quarterfinal between Rio Hondo (28-2) and Corpus Christi London (27-3) is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at San Diego High School.

Rio Hondo knows anything can happen in a one-game playoff with seven innings, and more if necessary, to decide a winner. The Bobcats already have one one-game playoff victory under their belts, a 1-0 victory over Taft last Friday.

“We like our chances as far as the one-game playoff. Last week, we had the one-game playoff against Taft, a really good team from the Coastal Bend area,” Gonzalez said. “Being the underdog doesn’t put any pressure on us. The pressure is going to be really on (London), and in the game of baseball, anything can happen. It’s going to be our best versus their best, and we’ll see what happens Thursday night.”

Senior Caleb Laster pitched a complete-game shutout with three hits, two walks and eight strikeouts against Taft. Sophomore Aidyn Flores hit a two-out triple, and sophomore third baseman Joshua Laster brought him home for the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth.

“We have to go big or go home. We got to leave everything on the field,” Flores said. “When I hit that triple, it felt great to have my teammates out there cheering for me, and when Josh brought me in, it felt good to be the only run to win the game against Taft.”

Caleb Laster, the older of the two on the team, leads the nation in strikeouts (166), wins (16) and no-hitters (6), according to MaxPreps. He’s mowed down batters all year with a powerful, precise arm and studies his opponents before taking the field.

He’ll have the ball in his hand again Thursday night in the one-game playoff against Corpus Christi London.

“My teammates don’t really know this, but I’ll scout the team on my own. I’ll try to find videos of them playing, do research of my own, and it’s good to see them bat and how they swing because as a pitcher, it tells you how to throw the ball and where to place it,” Caleb Laster said. “This is going to be a tough game, but I feel like if we play the way we did the last game, it will be a good game. … They have good pitching and good bats, so we’re going to have to play picture perfect defense and basically the same way we did against Taft with no errors. They’re going to be a good defensive sound team, but we have to put the ball in play because you never know what can happen.”

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MISSION — La Joya Palmview had three hits and no runs across the first six innings of Game 3 of its Region IV-5A area round playoff series against Sharyland Pioneer on Monday at Mission Veterans High School.

Down to their last three outs and trailing by two, the Lobos leaned on their calling card, “B.T.F,”an acronym that stands for believe, trust and faith.

Palmview proceeded to plate three runs in the bottom of the seventh to win 3-2 in Game 3 and seal the area playoff series 2-1 against Sharyland Pioneer. The Lobos (27-8) return to the regional quarterfinal round of the postseason for the first time since 2019. The Diamondbacks’ season comes to an end at 28-8 overall.

La Joya Palmview will meet Edinburg Vela in the Region IV-5A quarterfinals later this week. Date and time are to be determined.

“Coming into the last inning before they went into the dugout, we brought them in and told them we’ve been here before. It has to be nothing but ‘B.T.F.,’ that means believe, trust, faith in each other and play your hearts til the end. Leave it all on the field,” Palmview head coach Rick Garcia said. “They came out swinging, came out hitting the ball and put ourselves in a great situation. We kept taking ourselves out of the game with base-running, but finally when we put it together in the end, it showed.”

In the bottom of the seventh, Palmview third baseman Gael Gonzalez hit a hard grounder to shortstop and the throw to first was in time but out of reach, allowing the lead runner on. Catcher Josiah Gonzalez followed with an RBI double to right center field to make it a 2-1 game.

Center fielder Tony Villarreal then attempted a sacrifice bunt and reached safely thanks to a Pioneer error, giving the Lobos runners on the corners with no outs. First baseman Chris Perez delivered a game-tying RBI single to left field to pull even at 2 and moved Villarreal to third. An intentional walk loaded the bases, setting up right fielder Anakin Robles to bring in the game-winning run after being hit by a pitch.

“We knew it was going to be hard, but we never gave up and kept fighting,” Josiah Gonzalez said.

“We just don’t give up. We never put our heads down, we always believe in our team, trust in our coaches and always have faith in God to push us through,” Perez said.

Palmview pitcher Herminio Gonzalez pitched a complete game with two earned runs off eight hits and two walks.

“We knew they were a talented team, but we’re a talented team too. We had major respect, but we fight, and that’s what we do — we fight,” Herminio Gonzalez said.

Pioneer jumped ahead 1-0 early after a double by Andy Chapa and an RBI single to right field from Dannel Marrero. The Diamondbacks added another run during the top of the sixth after a leadoff triple by Marrero and a chopper up the middle by Diego Chapa.

Pioneer pitcher Isaac Lopez gave up three runs, one earned, off five hits and two walks, striking out six. Marrero finished 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.

“We had a great team. It’d be different if I felt like we lost to a team that wasn’t as good as us, but Palmview’s a heck of a ball club too,” Pioneer head coach Adrian Leal said. “They got out of jams today, we got out of jams today, the crowd was into it, it was a beautiful baseball game. It’s unfortunate and it’s a tough pill to swallow, but I’m going to stick up for my boys and I know they’re going to grow from it. It’s a learning experience for some of our guys, it’s unfortunate for our seniors, but we’ll get some of these guys back next year, use it as motivation and take it on the chin.”

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The Edinburg Vela SaberCats secured their second consecutive playoff sweep by defeating Corpus Christi Veterans, Texas’ fourth-ranked team in Class 5A, 7-1 in Game 2 of their Region IV-5A area-round series Saturday at Hebbronville High School in Hebbronville.

The SaberCats (25-10) won Game 1 by a score of 6-4 on Friday, leading to the sweep with Saturday’s Game 2 victory. Edinburg Vela will meet the winner of La Joya Palmview and Sharyland Pioneer’s area-round series in next week’s regional quarterfinal round.

Edinburg Vela

The Eagles (27-8-1) scored first on an error during the top of the third. The SaberCats wasted no time with their response — a five-run bottom half of the inning.

Ryan Botello and AJ Reyes reached on back-to-back singles to lead off the third. Bobby Garcia walked after a flyout to load the bases, setting up Jake Dufner’s RBI single to center. Izzy Perez followed with a two-run double to give Vela a 3-1 lead. Luke Esparza and Derek Rodriguez capped the inning off with an RBI single and an RBI on a fielder’s choice.

Perez added another run with an RBI triple during the fourth, and Justin Navarro scored on a passed ball during the fifth.

Dufner pitched all seven innings for the SaberCats, allowing one run off four hits and four walks with three strikeouts.

Edinburg Vela returns to the regional quarterfinal round of the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

*La Joya Palmview (26-8) and Sharyland Pioneer (28-7-1) will play Game 3 of their Region IV-5A area-round series at 7 p.m. Monday at Mission Veterans High School. The game, previously scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, was postponed due to inclement weather.

CLASS 6A

PSJA HIGH 5, LAREDO ALEXANDER 3: At Somerset, the Bears punched their ticket to Round 3 with a come-from-behind Game 3 win over the Bulldogs at Somerset High School.

The Bears (24-5) won Game 1, 3-0, and lost Game 2, 8-4, on Friday to set up Saturday’s Game 3.

PSJA High Courtesy Photo

Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fifth, PSJA High’s bats came to life with five runs on two outs. Jacob Delgadillo singled and Charlie Zamaripa brought him in with a double to left field. Alexander walked Julius Ramirez, and Vinny Cano made them pay with a two-run single to right field. Austin Flores drove in another run with a single to left, and one more run scored on an error. Zamaripa pitched five innings, allowing one run on five hits and one walk.

PSJA High will face Laredo United in next week’s regional quarterfinal round. Laredo United defeated Los Fresnos in two games to win their area-round playoff series.

EAGLE PASS 3, BROWNSVILLE RIVERA 2, 9 INNINGS: At Laredo, the Raiders’ first area-round playoff appearance since 2004 came to an end in an extra-inning battle against the Eagles in Game 3 at Veterans Field.

Rivera jumped ahead 2-1 during the bottom of the third after a single by Fabian Moreno, a walk by Rolando Rivera and a two-run base hit by Devin Parker.

Eagle Pass tied the game at 2 during the top of the fifth, which carried into the ninth inning before an error gave the Eagles the 3-2 win.

The Raiders (24-16) led the series 1-0 by taking Game 1 on Thursday, 5-0. Vincente Gonzalez had two RBIs, and Alek Guzman and Fabian Moreno had one apiece in the win. Andres Rocha pitched a complete-game shutout with just one hit and two walks allowed, striking out four in Game 1.

The Eagles responded with a 4-0 victory Friday to force Saturday’s decisive Game 3.

GAME 3 – SAN ANTONIO O’CONNOR 8, WESLACO HIGH 7: At San Antonio, the Panthers were on the wrong end of a seventh inning walk-off on sacrifice fly against San Antonio O’Connor on Saturday at Northside Complex.

O’Connor scored two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to upend Weslaco after a competitive three games between the two.

Weslaco High (22-13-3) won Game 1 on Thursday 2-1 in eight innings and lost Game 2 early Saturday 3-1. The Panthers were in control for the first four innings before O’Connor climbed back into the game one run at a time.

Toby Perez led Weslaco with two RBIs and two runs off 2-for-4 hitting. Alejandro Castillo, Isaiah Garza, Stone Gomez and Evan Zamora finished with one RBI each.

CLASS 5A

CORPUS CHRISTI CARROLL 3, SHARYLAND HIGH 1: At Corpus Christi, the Rattlers fell against the Tigers in a low-scoring, defensive Game 3 on Saturday at Cabaniss Field.

Sharyland’s Diego Diaz walked with two outs during the top of the third and Alejandro Islas brought him home with a hard hit single to right field. Carroll scored one run during the first and two more during the third. The Rattlers (27-7) were unable to get any offense going over the final four innings.

Islas surrendered three runs off seven hits and four walks across 5.2 innings pitched.

CORPUS CHRISTI RAY 6, McALLEN ROWE 4: At Laredo, the Warriors dropped Game 3 of their back-and-forth best-of-three area round playoff series against the No. 6 Texans on Saturday at Uni-Trade Stadium.

Rowe (21-12) fell in a 5-0 hole and sliced into the lead with a three-run fourth inning. The Warriors couldn’t get over the hump, however, as Ray added another run in the fifth.

Ramiro Campos finished 2-for-4 with one RBI, Zavier Garcia went 1-for-1 with two RBIs and one run, and Miguel Soto drove in one and scored once on 2-for-3 hitting.

Rowe won Game 1 of the series 3-2 on Thursday and lost Game 2 9-5 early Saturday.

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MISSION —- Sharyland Pioneer staved off elimination for the second consecutive week by winning Game 2 of its Region IV-5A area-round playoff series against La Joya Palmview 4-3 on Friday at Sharyland Pioneer High School.

The Lobos took Game 1 4-2 on Thursday, setting up a decisive Game 3 between the Diamondbacks (28-7-1) and Lobos (26-8) scheduled for 3 p.m. today at Mission Veterans High School.

“I think it’s a testament to both teams and how they’ve played all year. Records are similar, they’ve got guys over there that know how to play the game and we’ve got guys over here that love to fight,” Pioneer head coach Adrian Leal said. “What can you say about Rene Vela? He does it two weeks in a row. We have a lot of confidence in him, we talk about competing all the time, and he’s an ultimate competitor. He is somebody that will continuously fight until he gets the success that he’s worked hard for, and I’m extremely happy for him because he carried us on his back.”

Vela started another Game 2 facing elimination and pitched a gem with one earned run off six hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

“Even with our back against the wall, we’re not done fighting,” Vela said. “We’re going to keep going as long as it takes. They know I’m competitive and I’m going to keep fighting and do whatever it takes to move on.”

Pioneer’s Diego Chapa broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run single during the bottom of the third to score Diego Dominguez and Dannel Marrero. Andy Chapa finished 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk, and Pioneer added another run on a passed ball during the bottom of the second.

Palmview plated two runs during the top of the first off a Josiah Gonzalez RBI double and an error on a ground ball with Gael Gonzalez at third.

“Things didn’t go our way. Both teams are great ball clubs, and we knew they’re a tough team,” Palmview head coach Rick Garcia said. “We had a couple errors on the field, a couple mental errors running the bases, but we have to fix that by (today). (Today’s) another day, and we’ll come out and play again.”

CLASS 5A

GAME 1 – EDINBURG VELA 6, CORPUS CHRISTI VETERANS 4: At Hebbronville, the SaberCats (24-10) scored unanswered runs during the fourth, fifth and seventh innings to take down the Eagles (27-7-1) in Game 1 of their Region IV-5A area round playoff series Friday at Hebbronville High School.

Ryan Botello, Jayden Martinez, Bobby Garcia and Jake Dufner drove in one run apiece for the SaberCats.

Edinburg Vela leads the best-of-three series 1-0. Game 2 is scheduled for noon today at Hebbronville High School with Game 3, if necessary, to be played 30 minutes after Game 2.

CLASS 3A

ONE-GAME PLAYOFF – RIO HONDO 1, TAFT 0: At San Diego, the Bobcats became the Valley’s first team to advance to the regional quarterfinal round of the playoffs this season after their one-run take down of the Greyhounds on Friday at San Diego High School. The area round playoff victory is the team’s first since 2007.

Rio Hondo will meet Corpus Christi London in Round 3. Game details are to be determined.

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EDINBURG — UTRGV senior Brandon Pimentel hit his first home run as a sophomore in high school at El Paso Socorro.

“Trotting around the bases was something special,” he said.

The home trot is a fond memory in his mind and something he’d do quite often through the remainder of his high school years and stops at Howard and Mississippi State.

Now, after two seasons as a first baseman and left fielder for UTRGV, Pimentel has made program history and is looking to make more with seven games left in the regular season.

Pimentel is in a league of his own as the only UTRGV player in program history to hit 10 or more home runs in multiple seasons with 12 in 2022 and 13 this season. His 25 career home runs in his two years suiting up for the Vaqueros puts him second on the school’s all-time list and only two behind all-time leader Mitchell Moran, who hit 27 from 1981-83.

With seven regular-season games remaining, including the three this weekend at home, the Brandon Pimentel home run watch is heating up.

Pimentel leads UTRGV with a .370 batting average, 67 hits, 52 RBIs, a .624 slugging percentage and .458 on-base percentage, all team-highs.

“I’ve always known I can do it, it’s just about putting in that work and eventually that work will pay off. I’ve just stuck to that, believing in myself and I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve been given in my career,” he said.

Pimentel hit 14 home runs as a freshman at Howard College, a junior college in Big Spring, before transferring to Mississippi State. He played in 24 games over two years — hitting two home runs during that time — and was part of the 2021 national championship team.

Then he arrived at UTRGV and continued his dominance at the plate. Head coach Derek Matlock immediately knew the Vaqueros had a dude.

“First day watching batting practice, hitting balls all over the place, skilled hitting the ball to both fields, great power, good hand-eye coordination, great makeup and great worth ethic,” Matlock said. “He’s that kind of player, and it’s hard to break records, period. When you get good players, they can do it. It’s not going to be easy for him to do it, but he’s got an opportunity to do it. I wouldn’t ever say to Brandon Pimentel, ‘You can’t do it.’ I think that’s what Mississippi State did and that’s why he’s had two blowout seasons for us, and he needs to finish strong. He’s one of the better players to ever come through this program.”

Pimentel and the Vaqueros (26-21, 12-12) are set to make their last homestand of the regular season as Western Athletic Conference power Grand Canyon comes into town for a three-game series beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Game 2 is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday, with Game 3 set for noon Sunday, all at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.

Grand Canyon (31-19, 17-7 WAC) is an opponent with which UTRGV is plenty familiar, having met the ‘Lopes in the 2021 WAC Baseball Tournament championship game.

Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson is the No. 7 prospect in July’s MLB draft, according to the MLB 2023 Prospect Rankings.

After this weekend’s series against Grand Canyon, UTRGV closes WAC play with a three-game road series against Stephen F. Austin.

“We’re excited for the challenge. That’s what you coach for, to be in the moment. At the moment we’re in the playoffs right now, so we got to do a good job winning the series,” Matlock said.

LOS VAQUEROS BEER

Prior to the first pitch against Grand Canyon at 6:30 p.m. tonight, UTRGV athletics is hosting a tailgate beginning at 4 p.m. in the parking lot behind right field of UTRGV Baseball Stadium.

The tailgate will mark the official launch of Los Vaqueros, a blood orange kölsch style ale created by 5×5 Brewing Co. There will be live music, food and drinks before the game and fireworks after the game.

Tailgating policies can be found at GoUTRGV.com.

Saturday’s game is superhero night. Fans dressed as their favorite superheroes or in their best comic book character attire will receive free general admission.

Sunday’s game is the home finale. The graduating senior class will be honored in a special pregame ceremony.

Tickets for all three games can be purchased at UTRGVTickets.com.

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MISSION — La Joya Palmview extended its winning streak to 11 games by taking down Sharyland Pioneer 4-2 in a back-and-forth Game 1 in their Region IV-5A area-round playoff series Thursday at Mission Veterans High School.

The Lobos improve to 26-7 overall and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. The Diamondbacks drop to 27-6-1 on the year.

Game 2 between Palmview and Pioneer is set for 6 p.m. Friday at Sharyland Pioneer High School in Mission. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at Mission Veterans High School.

“We kept telling the kids we’re going to stick to the plan, not press in the batter’s box and not to get ourselves down on defense if things don’t go our way,” Palmview head coach Rick Garcia said. “We know they’re one heck of a ball club, so we know that we have to stick to the plan. Now we go back to the drawing board and draw up a plan for (today) and Saturday. That’s what we have to do.”

Palmview’s Josiah Gonzalez delivered a two-run single during the bottom of the first to put the Lobos on the board 2-0. Pioneer responded with one run in the second and third innings off an RBI double by Josh Cuellar and an RBI single by Dannel Marrero to even things at 2.

Renso Tamez broke the tie with a two-out RBI single during the bottom of the fourth, which proved to be the game-winning run. Tamez drove in another run during the bottom of the sixth to make it a 4-2 game.

“They’re a great team. We knew we had to come in and handle business, hit with runners in scoring position, keep moving them over and not letting it get to us if we get out. I’m proud of our guys,” Gonzalez said.

“I think the key to our success tonight was being disciplined behind the plate, we had to wait for a strike and put some good swings on the ball when we had to,” Tamez said.

Palmview pitcher Mateo Garcia allowed two runs off 10 hits and one walk, striking out four. The Lobos’ defense helped his cause by making big play after big play to keep the Diamondbacks out of scoring position with a pair of double plays and throwing runners out at third on two occasions. Derek Garza earned the save by getting the last batter to ground out to shortstop.

Ruben Lopez pitched six innings for the Diamondbacks, allowing three earned runs off 10 hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

Pioneer now faces the same scenario it did in Round 1 — a 1-0 series deficit after Game 1. The Diamondbacks responded impressively to take Games 2 and 3 to knock off Harlingen South last time. They’ll have to do it again against the Lobos to advance to the regional quarterfinal round.

“I think that we need to clean up just little things. When you get to these rounds of the playoffs it has to be almost a perfect game, and Palmview did a great job (Thursday) of capitalizing off our errors,” Pioneer head coach Adrian Leal said. “We just got to be a little more clean all the way around. I think our guys played well for the most part. We’ve got diving plays, ball bounces out of the glove. They hit the ball well and Ruben battled up there against a good offensive team, so we have to adapt to change and overcome.”

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