DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER

LA JOYA — Even after the Game 1 loss that made every remaining contest of its Class 5A regional quarterfinal series against Roma an elimination affair, Mission Veterans Memorial never changed its approach.

There were minor tweaks made here and there. But the Patriots never panicked and they stuck with the game plan that had produced a district title and two playoff series’ wins.

It got the job done. After a demonstrative win in Game 2 that evened the series on Friday, Mission Vets left no doubt in Game 3, pummeling Roma 15-5 in six innings Saturday at the La Joya ISD Complex to earn the program’s first trip to next week’s regional semifinals.

“Our mentality is to keep the ball on the ground,” said senior David de los Santos, who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. “Eventually we knew it’d find the holes, and obviously it did.”

In Game 1, those ground balls found Roma mitts. In Games 2 and 3, however, they found gaps.

“There was not a difference between Game 1 and Game 2 and Game 3,” Mission Vets coach Casey Smith said. “I thought we played consistent the entire time.”

The Patriots (26-8) pounded out 17 hits on Saturday, striking out just three times in 38 at-bats. This came less than 24 hours after they notched 14 runs on 12 hits in Game 2.

The adjustment Mission Vets hitters made after Game 1’s 2-0 loss was being more aggressive on any fastball in the zone earlier in the count. The philosophy — keep the ball on the ground — remained the same.

“The bats, we didn’t really have those going all year,” senior Edward Peña said. “Only now are we beginning to turn it up.

“We’ve been relying a lot on pitching and defense, and to open it up like we have the last few games is really big.”

After averaging 5.7 runs during the regular season, the Patriots are averaging 8.3 in the playoffs.

Mission Vets went up 4-0 during the second inning, saw Roma (13-15) cut the deficit in half, and then went up 8-2 by the fourth. The Patriots scored at least three runs in four innings.

The Gladiators’ offense was solid, accumulating eight hits with four walks, but the pitching never found answers for Patriots hitting.

That made it an easy day for Mission Vets sophomore Cristian Ramos, who struck out five in six innings. Ramos did not have his best stuff in improving to 8-0, but he had more than enough.

“You get really relaxed when you’re pitching,” Ramos said. “You know if you do get hit, you have a lineup of guys who can get the big hit anytime.

“Look at today. Even when they did score, we came right back at them.”

For the second straight postseason series, Mission Vets rallied from a 1-0 deficit to take two straight games and move on.

“It’s characteristic of a championship ballclub,” Smith said. “It’s about having kids that understand things aren’t always going to go your way. But you’ve got to keep plugging and keep doing things the right way, and most of the time things are going to work out in your benefit.”

Roma could have gone back to sophomore ace Jon Michael Roberson to throw Game 3, but coach Roque Cortinas chose not to.

Roberson threw only 85 pitches in seven innings during a complete game shutout win in Game 1 on Thursday, but Cortinas said the thought of not even pitching Roberson in Game 3 crossed his mind Saturday.

Roberson entered the game with one out in the third with the Gladiators trailing 7-2. He was the third Roma pitcher of the afternoon.

Roberson had the only three strikeouts for Roma pitching and threw the final 3 2/3 innings.

“My job as a coach is to win, of course, but also to think about what’s best for our kids,” Cortinas said. “He’s a sophomore. He’s our horse. What’s more important, winning a game and possibly overusing him or taking care of him? He’s got a bright future, and being an ex-pitcher myself I know how big rest is.”

Cortinas said he usually gives his pitchers 5-7 days off between starts. Asking a sophomore to come back on one day of rest, he said, was asking for a lot.

“I just couldn’t do it,” Cortinas said. “I don’t think it’s worth it. People may think I’m wrong, but that’s what I’m going to go by.

“We still ended up throwing him more than we wanted to. When he’s out there, though, this team just plays different. They always think they have a chance with him out there. It just didn’t work out this time.”

The District 31-5A rivals were in the regional quarterfinals for the first time in each program’s history. Mission Vets will play Georgetown next week, while Roma, boasting a lineup that included four sophomores and one freshman, closed an impressive season that saw it go beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Cortinas’ 11 years at the helm.

“Even before we got to today, I told this team they’ve done things nobody expected,” Cortinas said. “We exceeded expectations. People didn’t give us a chance, and it shows what kind of heart we have.

“It’s a young team and we’re going to make some noise the next couple of years.”

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Less than 24 hours after his RBI single in the seventh inning won Game 1 of Edinburg High’s Class 6A regional quarterfinal against Laredo United, Daniel Solis struck again.

The junior infielder knocked in the game-tying hit in the seventh during Saturday’s Game 2 and Josh Aguirre followed with the go-ahead two-run single to win 3-1 and sweep the Longhorns at Roma.

The Bobcats advanced to next week’s regional semifinals against San Antonio Johnson.

“Daniel has been around this game long enough,” Bobcats coach Robert Valdez said. “He had some game-winning hits as a freshman and he’s played a key role in our lineup the last couple of years. He’s been in position the last few days to help this team and he’s taken advantage of it.”

Senior right-hander Luis Ortega allowed one run and earned the win in six innings. He struck out five, allowed nine hits and walked two. Jaime Alvarado shut the Longhorns down in the bottom of the seventh to close it out.

“This team has gotten to this point with resiliency and belief in each other,” said Valdez, who also credited his coaching staff of David Kaz, Mike Soto and Toby Gonzales. “The funny thing with this group is it’s been a different person each and every night. It’s a next-man-up mentality.”

Aguirre is a junior outfielder who made a key adjustment before his game-winning at-bat.

“Ironically, he’d struggled previously,” Valdez said. “But he was more patient, and he just waited for the pitch he wanted during that last at-bat. I think we as a team were just rushing early. We were anxious. We had to calm down.”

The Bobcats improved to 24-3-1.

LA JOYA PALMVIEW 8, LAREDO ALEXANDER 6; LAREDO ALEXANDER 9, LA JOYA PALMVIEW 3: At La Joya, Palmview held off state-ranked Alexander in Game 2 of their regional quarterfinal series to prevent a sweep but fell in Game 3.

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in Class 6A in the state by Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association, scored two runs in the first inning of Game 3 and never looked back. In Game 2, Palmview rallied from a 5-0 deficit after four innings to force a decisive third game.

Alexander ended Palmview’s season in the third round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

The Lobos finished the season 22-6-1.

CLASS 4A

HIDALGO 9, ROCKPORT-FULTON 6: At Laredo, another playoff game meant another offensive explosion for the Pirates as they swept the best-of-three regional quarterfinals.

It was the fourth time in five playoff games Hidalgo scored at least seven runs.

“We’re finding ways to stay in the game, and our bats are coming alive,” Hidalgo coach Karlos Carrasco said. “Teams have tried to pitch around us, but we’ve been so disciplined, especially in these playoffs.

“Now teams have to pitch to us. The offense is something we haven’t seen all year.”

Oscar Noguera drilled a homer for the Pirates in the first inning. Hidalgo jumped out to a 3-0 lead, then trailed, then got back up in the fourth inning and never looked back.

Kike Mendoza started the game for Hidalgo and got the win, and sophomore Raul Ortiz came on in the fourth inning to keep Rockport-Fulton down.

“We’ve been very competitive,” Carrasco said. “A lot of kids are coming up with the big hit. The good thing is we’ve been putting the pressure on and bringing guys in.”

The Pirates are averaging 9.8 runs and are 5-0 through three playoff series’.

“The bats are peaking for us,” Carrasco said. “But the good thing is we have yet to peak as a team, and that’s scary.”

Hidalgo improved to 23-5-1.

DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER

EDINBURG — Just as the ball bounced Roma’s way in Game 1 on Thursday, it hopped Mission Veterans Memorial’s way in Game 2 on Friday.

The Patriots used a 10-run, six-hit fifth inning to tear apart a pitcher’s duel and earn a 14-3 rout to even the best-of-three Class 5A regional quarterfinal series at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.

Game 3 is 2 p.m. today at the same site.

“We just found the right spots today,” Mission Vets coach Casey Smith said. “We hit the ball (Thursday) too, but we just happened to hit it right at them and they made the plays. It’s baseball.

“One day they fall and the next day they don’t.”

The Patriots (25-8) got 12 hits against three Gladiator (13-14) pitchers. Five were for extra bases. They also walked seven times after walking just once in Game 1.

“Today was about getting people on and getting people in,” said Patriots infielder Edward Peña, who went 2-for-3 with four RBIs. “I was just going up there looking for a pitch I could drive so we could get some runs. I felt we could hit their pitching.

“If our approach was good, we would be alright.”

The Patriots were more than alright in the fifth. They sent 15 hitters to the plate and manufactured runs off singles, doubles, passed balls and walks.

“We were jumping on them early,” said Patriots outfielder Ruben Cavazos, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored. “We didn’t let the pitcher get ahead of the count, which we didn’t do in Game 1. We attacked, and any fastball in the zone, we were ready to hit.”

But a weird play went Mission Vets’ way early in the frame.

With the Patriots ahead 2-1 to start the fifth, Cavazos followed an Eddie Galvan double with an RBI single. Matthew De La Garza then hit a ground ball to Roma third baseman Juan Salinas, who snared it, ready to initiate a double play.

But Salinas’ throw to second base hit the back of an umpire. Instead of a possible two outs for Roma, Cavazos was safe at second and De La Garza was safe at first.

The Patriots scored nine runs after the play, which clearly had a negative effect on the Gladiators.

“We were still in that ballgame, and that’s a routine double-play ball,” Roma coach Roque Cortinas said. “Unfortunately, (the umpire) said that’s where he belongs. I don’t know what we’re supposed to do in a situation like that.

“We can’t throw over him, so I guess next time we’ll throw through him.”

Smith admitted the play was a big one for both teams.

“We got a break,” Smith said. “It helped out and it really was a momentum swing. Our kids fed off of that. They continued to hit the ball and we scored some more runs.”

Sophomore Noel Vela, the Patriots’ ace, kept Roma at bay the rest of the way. Vela threw six innings and allowed one earned run on three hits. He struck out 10 and walked five.

Sophomore Cristian Ramos (7-0, 0.95 ERA) is expected to pitch today for the Patriots. Cortinas said he has two or three guys he’s looking at to pitch, but it’s possible he could go back to ace Jon Michael Roberson, who pitched a complete game shutout in Game 1 and threw just 85 pitches in seven innings.

Roberson has been Roma’s main pitcher all season, which is why it wasn’t a surprise to see the Patriots thrive once Roma had to go to the back end of its rotation. But Mission Vets has confidence in Ramos and the fact that it came back from a 1-0 series deficit last weekend against Gregory-Portland to rally and win the area round playoffs.

“We know we can come back from any tough loss,” Cavazos said. “In Game 1, things just didn’t go our way. But from the last series, we learned if we trust our approach, the results will find itself.”

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Edinburg High is one win from the Class 6A regional semifinals.

Behind dominant pitching from junior Texas Tech commit John Gonzalez, the Bobcats blanked Laredo United 1-0 in Game 1 of their regional quarterfinal series Friday in Roma.

Gonzalez pitched a complete game and allowed three hits. It was his double to right center in the seventh inning that started a surge for the Bobcats. Daniel Solis followed with a RBI single that scored pinch runner Manny Ybarra for the game-winning run.

“It was evenly matched the whole way,” Edinburg High coach Robert Valdez said. “It was truly a pitcher’s duel. The ability for John to get ahead of hitters was big. He was spotting his fastball really well. He cruised, to his credit.

“He had those hitters guessing.”

It was ace versus ace. United threw Bernie Martinez, who, too, surrendered just three hits. But two of those came in the crucial seventh.

“Bernie is a power pitcher, similar to John,” Valdez said. “We were pulling off some balls early in the game. He kept us honest with the off-speed stuff. But we started stringing out at-bats and made the adjustment of trying to drive the ball to right field.”

Game 2 is 11 a.m. today at Roma.

LAREDO ALEXANDER 7, LA JOYA PALMVIEW 1: At La Joya, the Lobos are one loss from elimination after falling to the Bulldogs in Game 1 of their Class 6A regional quarterfinal series.

Alexander, ranked No. 1 in Class 6A in the state by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association, scored four runs in the fourth inning to break the game open. Palmview’s run came on an error in the first inning.

CLASS 4A

HIDALGO 8, ROCKPORT-FULTON 5: At Laredo, the Pirates scored four runs in the third inning to overcome an early 3-0 deficit and take a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three Class 4A regional quarterfinal series.

Rockport-Fulton went with a left-hander on the mound, something Hidalgo had not faced all season. It took some time for the Pirates to break through, but once they did they never let up.

“It took us some time to get going and find that pitcher,” Hidalgo coach Karlos Carrasco said. “Seeing a lefty was a change for us. The ball comes out differently. But once we got comfortable, we were OK.”

Dylan Dougherty led the Pirates with 3-for-4 hitting, including two doubles. Hidalgo managed eight hits.

Ace Oscar Noguera pitched a complete game and struck out 11. He walked one. He threw 50 pitches the first two innings, but just 54 over the final five.

Game 2 is at 11 a.m. today at Veterans Field in Laredo.

DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER

EDINBURG — Roma sophomore ace Jon Michael Roberson wasn’t dominant Thursday night, and neither was the Gladiators’ offense. But the defense was, and that was the primary culprit behind a 2-0 win over Mission Veterans Memorial in Game 1 of their Class 5A regional quarterfinal series at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.

Roberson only struck out two, but placed the ball where he needed it for a complete game shutout. Fifteen of Mission Vets’ 21 outs came on the ground, and only four hits left the infield.

It was Roma’s first win this season against its District 31-5A rival. Mission Vets swept the regular season series by a combined score of 5-1.

“I learned they can hit the ball, they can make contact,” said Roberson, who pitched both of the regular season meetings. “They showed that tonight. But solid defense kept us in the game. I didn’t dominate, but my defense played big. They’re the reason we won this game.”

The Gladiators (13-13) did nothing different, Roma coach Roque Cortinas said, than its first two meetings against Mission Vets (24-8). But confidence is up, and that’s big.

“This is a new season,” Cortinas said. “Anything that happens in the past, you can’t reflect on it. You have to move forward, and we’re doing alright.”

Roberson threw more outside pitches Thursday, knowing Mission Vets’ hitters preferred inside deliveries.

“Most of those guys tonight were pulling the ball to the shortstop and third,” Roberson said. “That’s what helped us out. We know exactly what type of hitters they are.”

It made for a laborious evening for Roma infielders Alex Mascorro, Juan Salinas and Alex Garza, but they got the job done.

“We hit the ball right at them all night long,” Mission Vets coach Casey Smith said. “Give them credit. They made every defensive play they had to. Every time the ball was on the ground, they made the play.”

Offensively, all the damage was done during the third inning when Mascorro laced a two-out, two-run double that caressed the third base line deep to left field.

“He started off with a ball and then he threw me another ball,” Mascorro said of the at-bat. “I was thinking he’d throw the next pitch right down the middle to get a strike. I swung and it came.”

The teams combined for 10 hits. Roberson allowed four hits and walked one. Mission Vets senior Edward Peña surrendered six hits and struck out four, but walked four.

The Patriots’ best chance at scoring came during the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on second. But Roma leftfielder Angel Gomez made a spectacular sliding dive for a catch in deep left-center for the final out.

“We’ve been peaking late in the year and that just gives us confidence,” Cortinas said. “Everything comes off our pitching and our defense. That’s what gets us going.”

The Gladiators are beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Cortinas’ 11 years at the helm, and they’re in the regional quarters for the first time in program history.

One more win adds to that storybook, and it won’t come easily, Cortinas warned. The Patriots, beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time in program history, rallied from a 1-0 series deficit last weekend to win two straight during the area round against Gregory-Portland.

“The first thing we told these kids is we can’t get too high,” Cortinas said. “We have another game to win. Mission Vets is a team that came from behind the last series and won, so we have to be cautious of that.

“This is a young team that can get overly excited, but we just have to keep them grounded.”

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DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER

MISSION — Since taking over as coach of Mission Veterans Memorial’s baseball program six years ago, Casey Smith has led the Patriots to the playoffs five times.

That was step one in growing the program from mediocrity to respectability. The Patriots had only been to the playoffs once before Smith got there.

Step two was taken this season, when Mission Vets eliminated Mercedes and Gregory-Portland for the program’s first bi-district and area playoff wins, a reward made even more special considering the Patriots had been eliminated via walk-offs by Flour Bluff and Laredo Martin, respectively, in the first round the previous two years.

“That showed us what it took to win in the playoffs,” senior infielder Edward Peña said. “It was a rude awakening. What we learned is that regular season ball is a whole different animal from playoff ball.”

It’s been baby steps for Smith and seniors like Peña, but they have produced. Mission Veterans Memorial not only won its third straight district title this season, but is also one of a handful of Valley programs left standing.

“The hardest part, for me when I got here, was teaching these kids how to win,” said Smith, previously an assistant for six years under Bart Bickerton at Sharyland High. “It’s like anything else. Everything is a process and everything starts with a foundation.”

That foundation emphasizes work ethic, pitching, defense and fundamentals.

“We try and play the game the right way, do the little things right,” Smith said. “And what it comes down to is doing all that to the best of our ability.”

A WINNING HUNGER

The Patriots boast a roster of 10 seniors and eight sophomores heading into Thursday’s Game 1 of their Class 5A regional quarterfinal series against Roma at Edinburg Baseball Stadium. But sophomore ace Noel Vela, Peña and senior Ruben Cavazos are the core components.

Peña and Cavazos did not make the playoffs their freshman year. For two players who have been recognized state-wide for their talent— Peña a two-time Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association All-State selection and Cavazos a selection last season — that didn’t sit well.

“It definitely made us work harder, and we did some good things the last two years,” said Peña, batting .427 with 29 RBIs and 18 walks to nine strikeouts. “Just making the playoffs seemed like an accomplishment because we didn’t my freshman year. But then we lost in the first round the last two years, and so this year we didn’t just want to get there, we needed to get past there.

“Now we’re just taking it as far as we can.”

Peña and Cavazos have taken it all in.

“That playoff experience has been key,” Cavazos said. “We’ve had young guys, older guys, and any type of playoff experience has been big. These guys have grown up. We’ve had a drive to get past that first round and it pretty much consumed us. And now that it’s happened, we just need to keep getting better.”

A program is only as good as its talent, and the Patriots have had that. Aside from Peña and Cavazos, there’s Vela, 9-2 with a 1.49 ERA and a 3.61 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Pitching is the backbone of Smith’s philosophy, and with Vela and Peña (6-1, 1.29 ERA) he has two go-to marksmen on the bump.

Vela, whose fastball has been clocked at 88 miles per hour and sits around 81-86 consistently, said the difference between last year and this year for him has been getting ahead in the count more because of a developed curveball. But his drive is no different than that of Peña’s or Cavazos’.

“Losing gave us a hunger,” Vela said. “I think you can tell we just want it more this year. We lost in the first round and we were tired of it. We weren’t going to let it happen again.”

WALKING THE WALK

That can be easier said than done, but the Patriots have done just that.

“We’ve made it farther this year than any year, but I also feel we’ve played more relaxed,” Peña said. “I think we put a bit too much pressure on ourselves the last two years. This year we’re having more fun and we’re just playing ball.”

That sense of calm comes from a rigorous non-district slate and competing in arguably the toughest district in the Valley. It’s no coincidence that 31-5A has two teams left standing, and they happen to be playing each other for the right to move on to the regional semis.

But the poise also comes from learning to be comfortable during uncomfortable situations. Cavazos said there was a time when the Patriots played timid in big situations. Adverse moments would dogpile.

That is no longer the case.

“Baseball is a game that you have to remain even keel,” Smith said. “You have to understand there will be bumps along the way. We lose two in a row during district and you have people doubting how good we were. We saw the rankings.

“But I don’t think the kids ever doubted, and that’s where it starts.”

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Thursday, May 21

Class 5A regional quarterfinals

Game 1: Mission Veterans Memorial vs. Roma, at Edinburg Baseball Stadium, 7 p.m.

Friday, May 22

Class 6A regional quarterfinals

Game 1: Laredo Alexander at La Joya Palmview, at La Joya ISD Baseball Complex, 8 p.m.

Game 1: Edinburg High vs. Laredo United, at Sinton, 7:30 p.m.

Class 5A regional quarterfinals

Game 2: Mission Veterans Memorial vs. Roma, at Edinburg Baseball Stadium, 7 p.m.

Class 4A regional quarterfinals

Game 1: Hidalgo vs. Rockport-Fulton, at Veterans Field (Laredo), 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 23

Class 6A regional quarterfinals

Game 2: Laredo Alexander at La Joya Palmview, at La Joya ISD Baseball Complex, 3:30 p.m.; Game 3 30 minutes after Game 2

Game 2: Edinburg High vs. Laredo United, at Sinton, 11 a.m.; Game 3 at 5 p.m. if necessary

Class 5A regional quarterfinals

Game 3: Mission Veterans Memorial vs. Roma, at Edinburg Baseball Stadium, 2 p.m. (If Necessary)

Class 4A regional quarterfinals

Game 2: Hidalgo vs. Rockport-Fulton, at Veterans Field (Laredo), 11 a.m.; Game 3 30 minutes after Game 2 if necessary

RGVSPORTS.COM

Hidalgo rallied from a two-run deficit in the seventh inning to prevail 5-4 in its Class 4A area round play-off game against Boerne in Corpus Christi.

The Pirates trailed 3-0 into the fourth inning and 3-1 into the seventh.

“They were putting pressure on us and we had a hard time adjusting to it,” Hidalgo coach Karlos Carrasco said. “I talked to the boys before that seventh inning and told them, ‘Hey, one pitch at a time. One at-bat at a time.’ Those seniors, they didn’t want their season to end.”

Danny Espinosa led the inning off with a triple. Kike Mendoza’s double the next at-bat scored Espinosa. Oscar Noguera was intentionally walked. Dylan Hernandez hit a single.

An error scored another Hidalgo run, and then with two outs Allan Wilburn drilled a two-run bomb to right field for a 5-3 lead.

“It took us awhile to get into rhythm,” Carrasco said. “They were keeping us off balance and we struggled early.”

The Pirates improved to 21-5-1 and advanced to play Rockport-Fulton in the regional quarters next week.

EAGLE PASS 10, EDINBURG HIGH 9; EDINBURG HIGH 1, EAGLE PASS 0: At Laredo, the Bobcats watched the Eagles sneak out a Game 2 win to knot up the Class 6A best-of-three area series before Edinburg High held on for the big Game 3 win.

Luis Ortega pitched seven innings and struck out five in Game 3.

The Bobcats improved to 21-3-1.

VICTORIA EAST 9, EDINBURG VELA 1: At Corpus Christi, Victoria East completed the sweep of Vela in their Class 5A best-of-three area playoff series.

The win capped a strong season for Vela, which made the playoffs for the first time in program history and followed that up with a bi-district championship last weekend.

The SaberCats finished the season 15-10.

LAREDO ALEXANDER 11, EDINBURG NORTH 5; LAREDO ALEXANDER 12, EDINBURG NORTH 2: At Zapata, Laredo Alexander rallied from a 1-0 series deficit to sweep Saturday’s games and advance to the Class regional quarterfinals, where it will meet La Joya Palmview next week.

Laredo Alexander won Game 3 in five innings.Edinburg North led Game 2 3-0 and Game 2-0 before falling short in each game.

The Cougars finished the season 18-8.

CALALLEN 12, SHARYLAND HIGH 6: At Calallen, the Wildcats finished off the Rattlers in a demonstrative sweep of their Class 5A area playoff series.

After the two teams wrapped up a Game 1 16-0 Calallen win at 1:45 a.m. Saturday morning, Calallen delivered another knockout to the Rattlers, scoring seven runs in the fourth inning to pull away.

This came after Calallen had 16 hits in Game 1 and a no-hitter going into the fifth inning.

“Yeah, it affected us,” Sharyland coach Junior Martinez told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times about the effects from Game 1. “But that kid last night he was lights out. This guy today, we hit him OK, but they hit us even better. That’s a good-hitting team. That’s probably the best-hitting team we’ve seen in four or five years.”

DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER

SAN JUAN — The 24 hours that turned Friday into Saturday could have seemed like 48 for La Joya Palmview baseball coach Rick Garcia.

After the Lobos beat Weslaco High 4-2 in Game 1 of their Class 6A best-of-three area playoff series on Thursday, Garcia saw Game 2 postponed less than an hour before first pitch Friday because of rain muddying Weslaco High’s field. And then he sat and waited Saturday, with the first pitch changing from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and then finally 3 p.m.

All the while, his main concern was Game 2 starting pitcher Ernesto Garza.

“Ernesto was very confident (Friday) when I spoke to him with the understanding that we were going to play that night,” Garcia said “We didn’t (play). And then I was leery because of the times (Saturday).

“I was telling him, ‘Don’t lose focus, mijo.’ I told him if he didn’t lose focus, we’d be OK. That’s what happened. He didn’t lose focus and we’re OK.”

The senior right-hander was better than OK. Garza surrendered two runs on nine hits and struck out nine in nine innings as Palmview outlasted Weslaco High 3-2 in an extra-inning affair at C.V. Cain Field that pushed the Lobos into a regional quarterfinal rematch against Laredo Alexander next week.

Garza only walked one Panther, and that was intentionally.

“We were locating the ball perfectly and they weren’t adjusting to it,” Garza said. “I felt like I was throwing harder as the game went on.”

With the game tied 2-2 in the ninth, Palmview courtesy runner Andrew Puente scored from third when Panthers leftfielder Ulises Hernandez dropped a fly-ball with one out. In the bottom of the frame, a sacrifice bunt and two groundouts rendered a lead-off single by Weslaco’s Kevin Cantu meaningless.

“It’s what we expected between these two teams,” Weslaco coach Eddie Serna said. “Good pitching. Clutch hitting. That’s the way it goes.”

Though Garza starred, so did his counterpart Freddy Barrera. Barrera, too, went all nine innings and gave up three runs (one earned) on eight hits while striking out nine and walking two.

“His curveball is real deceiving,” said Garza, who went 1-for-4 with a double. “He kept throwing it and throwing it and we just kept chasing. Luckily we did get the hits we needed. All we needed was clutch hitting.”

While the game had plenty of opportunities for both teams, the momentum-changer came in the bottom of the eighth inning with the game tied 2-2.

Weslaco (17-7) put two runners on with one out when Garcia chose to intentionally walk No. 6 hitter Tyler Lopez, who was 1-for-3 up to that point. That loaded the bases.

Fortunately for the Lobos, Garza made sure Garcia’s bold move worked, forcing consecutive groundouts to end the frame and keep the game moving.

“We had double-play depth down the middle and were prepared to throw home automatically from the corners if the ball got there,” Garcia said of his decision to intentionally walk Lopez. “(Lopez) was 1-for-3 and the next kid (Jason McClenahan) was 1-for-3 as well, and twice he had hit to our second baseman. We were hoping he’d do the same thing and we’d get out of the inning. But (Garza) struck them out.

“Either way, those kids were going to have to beat us.”

Garcia’s decision kept the door open for Palmview (21-4-1) in the ninth. After Carlos Puente walked, and then was pinch-run for by Andrew Puente, Leo Perez flew out to right field.

But Garcia made another big move, pinch-hitting Mario Hinojosa for Ismael Martinez in the No. 9 slot. Hinojosa delivered, bombing a fastball to the center field wall to advance Andrew Puente from first to third and set up the go-ahead run.

“I’m pretty nervous, honestly,” said Hinojosa, who also came off the bench to tie Game 2 of Palmview’s bi-district series against Laredo United South last weekend. “But Coach has faith in me and that’s what I like. He knows I’m going to get him a hit.

“(Barrera) was throwing a lot of curveballs and he stayed high. He just so happened to throw me a fastball inside.”

And finally, the Lobos could relax.

“We just wanted to win,” Garza said. “This is our last ride as seniors. Who doesn’t want to advance in the playoffs? We go to the third round of the playoffs again just like last year and hopefully we keep going.”

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DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER

During a game against a rival opponent last season, Roma pitcher Jon Michael Roberson, then a freshman, was cruising early.

But the opposing coach wasn’t buying it.

“The guy was yelling from third base all the way across the field to his dugout about how Jon would get tired,” recalled Roma coach Roque Cortinas. “‘He’ll just tire. He won’t make it!’ That kind of stuff. He tried to get Jon riled up.”

The coach ended up being right. After pitching three shutout innings, Roberson fatigued in the fourth and was removed.

“I told Jon, ‘Look, I want you to remember what that Coach said,’” Cortinas said. “‘Next year, you’re going to prove him wrong.’ I hear all the time how he’s too young, he’s too small. But all he’s done is prove them wrong.”

Roberson went through growing pains as a freshman on varsity in 2014. But that has only paved the way for a standout sophomore campaign.

It was exactly what Cortinas desired when he threw the 5-foot-7 right-hander into the fire. There would be no careful, hand-holding assimilation to varsity ball for Roberson.

“It gave me a lot of experience,” Roberson said of being a perennial playoff club’s No. 2 pitcher and closer as a freshman. “I knew I had to grow up quick. I adjusted well. Coming in as a reliever in tight games helped me out. I learned I do pretty well in tight situations. So now I relax.”

And this season, against that same opposing coach?

“Jon threw two complete games,” Cortinas boasts. “And I guarantee that Coach won’t be talking about him like that again.”

A move like Cortinas’, ushering in a kid right out of middle school to the varsity level, is a high-risk, high-reward maneuver. But Cortinas knew what he had in Roberson, and last week the 16-year-old returned the trust.

Now the Gladiators’ ace as a sophomore, Roberson pitched a complete-game, six-hit contest against Brownsville Porter in their one-game Class 5A bi-district play-off to advance the Gladiators to the area round of the playoffs for the first time in Cortinas’ 11 years at the helm.

Now they look to add to that mark tonight, with another one-game play-off, this time an area round tilt against Castroville Medina Valley in Laredo.

“We’re ready to go and play,” Roberson said. “It’s the same mentality. One game, but take it easy. Don’t try and do too much.”

Learning to stay in control has been Roberson’s M.O. this season. As a freshman, even a simple base hit would grind on Roberson. His head would drop. He would start pacing the mound.

“He was the type where if anything went wrong, boom,” Cortinas said. “You could see him collapse. It was a matter of him growing up quicker. He had to pitch his game and just let it go.”

Roberson listened and changed. He went from 6-4 with a 5.44 ERA and 1.42 strikeouts per walk last season to 4-4 with a 1.47 ERA and 3.17 strikeouts per walk this year.

The difference, he said, came between the ears.

“Last year, when something wouldn’t go my way, I’d get frustrated,” Roberson said. “I’d start throwing balls and walking people. This year I’ve learned to work with it. Work pitch by pitch and keep going.”

While Cortinas, a former college player at University of Texas-Brownsville and Texas A&M-Kingsville, worked on Roberson’s make-up, pitching coach Jorge Garza worked on the young man’s technique.

This season, Roberson has worked on a slider and introduced a changeup to accommodate a fastball that tops out at 85 miles per hour, five miles more than last season. Garza and Roberson have also worked to simplify the game.

Roberson will watch a player’s swing. If it’s long, he will pitch inside. A short swing means to pitch outside.

He will also pay attention to stance. A hitter scooting up at the plate means to throw inside. If they move back, he’ll throw outside.

Big hitters that pull the ball away means Roberson should pitch outside away, with some off-speed stuff. A slow swing means overpowering them with a fastball.

“The outside pitches really help me,” Roberson said. “I’ll mix it up. I think that frustrates them.”

It’s no coincidence that Roberson’s game has prospered after a full offseason of baseball work. In middle school, he was a multi-sport athlete. But since entering high school, he has stuck just with baseball.

“He knows baseball is his ticket,” Cortinas said.

Under Cortinas’ summer program last year, Roberson ran a lot of mileage with some sprints. He lifted weights, not heavy but middle-to-light weights with a lot of reps to boost endurance.

As a result, there is no more talk about Roberson eventually tiring during games. He has started eight games this season, and has pitched the entirety of all eight.

“We almost had to start from scratch and build up,” Cortinas said. “Going through an offseason where it was specifically geared toward baseball training was huge. And when he came back this year, he came back a totally different kid.”

Roberson knew he would be the team’s ace this season. So, he worked at it. He trained on his own, following Cortinas’ program to the ‘T.’ He ran, he lifted, he threw. Then he threw some more, lifted some more, ran some more.

It’s why when he’s asked if he’s surprised by his quick success, there is a hint of defensiveness in Roberson’s voice.

“It’s not a surprise,” he said. “If you work for it and you train, it will all pay off. It’s expected. If you didn’t work for it and you do well, then, yeah, that may be a surprise.

“But I worked for this.”

And all that work is proving a lot of people wrong.

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