By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

LA VILLA — Port Isabel has faced Progreso three times as a District 32-4A opponent this baseball season and won each matchup.

Monday night’s 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the Red Ants at La Villa was the triumph that mattered the most and felt the best as it got the Tarpons into the Class 4A state playoffs.

“It’s amazing (because) I didn’t want to end my baseball career tonight,” said Port Isabel’s Tyler Francis, who launched a sacrifice fly to right field that plated teammate Josiah Garza from third base with the winning run in a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the bottom of the seventh inning. “I wanted to keep going into the playoffs, especially because this is my senior year.

“I couldn’t have done this without my brothers (teammates) who always have my back,” added Francis, who went the distance on the mound for the pitching victory with 11 strikeouts while throwing a three-hitter. “No matter what we do, we’re always trying to hype each other up. We’re just trying to bring out the best in each other.”

Port Isabel, Progreso and Rio Hondo finished 32-4A action all tied for fourth place with 7-7 records, which prompted Monday night’s three-team, two-game “play-in” scenario at a neutral site.

In Monday’s opener, Progreso beat Rio Hondo 4-1 to advance to the second contest against Port Isabel. The Red Ants were looking fairly good against Port Isabel after leading 4-2 at the end of four innings and up 4-3 after six frames.

But the Tarpons wouldn’t be denied.

In the bottom of the seventh with one out, Garza blasted an RBI triple to deep center field to bring home the tying run, which had reached base on a walk, making it 4-4.

After two intentional walks by Progreso to load the bases, Garza came home from third with the winning run thanks to Francis’ sacrifice fly to right field, setting off a victory celebration by the Port Isabel players, coaches and fans.

The Tarpons now go against District 31-4A champion Robstown in bi-district later this week.

“It’s been like that (with us facing adversity) all year,” Port Isabel coach Robert Holland said. “We were two games down in the standings (just) last week and we put it (together) point blank to get it done (and battle to make the playoffs). These guys stepped up.

“I don’t know if you could say we had Progreso’s number, but we’ll take it,” Holland added. “It always feels good (to qualify for the playoffs). People doubted us, but our guys didn’t. It was a rough year, believe me (but our guys came through).

“I always have this saying, and the players know it. It’s not how you start (the season), but how you finish. And now we’ve finished (district and the regular season by reaching the postseason).”

Progreso went ahead 1-0 in the top of the second on an RBI sacrifice play by Adrian Cavazos before the Tarpons went up 2-1 in the bottom of the second. An RBI triple by Hugo Gonzalez to deep center field tied the score 1-1. And then moments later, Gonzalez came home on a wild pitch to put the Tarpons ahead by a run.

A run-scoring sacrifice fly to right field by Progreso’s Julian Alvarez in the top of the third brought the Red Ants into a tie at 2-2.

A two-run single to left field by Cavazos in the top of the fourth put the Red Ants ahead 4-2.

The Tarpons pulled within one run, 4-3, in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single to left field by Garza.

That set the stage for the Tarpons’ come-from-behind rally in the bottom of the seventh that won the game and sent Port Isabel to the playoffs.

Garza, Francis, Jeremy Martinez and Jose Martinez each collected a pair of hits for the Tarpons. Garza led his team with a pair of RBIs.

By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

ELSA — No matter where the game is played, Brownsville Veterans Memorial is tough to beat in softball.

The District 32-5A champion Lady Chargers reinforced that notion over the weekend by decisively sweeping their Class 5A best-of-three bi-district playoff series against District 31-5A fourth-place Laredo Cigarroa.

The series opener was played Friday at Sharyland High and the Lady Chargers cruised to a 19-0 victory in five innings against the Lady Toros. When the series was moved to Elsa on Saturday for Game 2 due to wet field conditions in Mission, the site change had absolutely no effect on the outcome.

It was more of the same Saturday at Joey Torres Field in Elsa as the Lady Chargers (23-10) raced past Cigarroa 16-1 in five innings to eliminate the Lady Toros (13-15) from the playoffs.

“We’ve earned it (our strong showing in bi-district) because we’ve been working hard in practice,” said Cassandra Valdez, a senior pitcher/shortstop for the Lady Chargers who went all the way on the mound for the victory with 10 strikeouts and one hit allowed while batting 2-for-4 with a three-run double and a three-run homer. “We’ve really been coming through with the sticks (bats) and that was what people saw in these (two bi-district) games.

“Everything went pretty smooth for us,” added Valdez, a UT-San Antonio softball signee. “We had a little bit of a bad inning in the second (and gave up a run), I believe it was, and we made adjustments to get back on track. We made our adjustments, and that’s what matters the most.”

Yes, the Lady Chargers got off to somewhat of a slow start, scoring only a run in the bottom of the first inning and another run in the second to barely lead 2-1 after Cigarroa had scored in the top of the second. But Brownsville Veterans came alive in the bottom of the third and sent 19 batters to the plate while scoring 14 runs to break open the contest.

The marathon bottom of the third inning was highlighted by three-run homers from Valdez and freshman infielder Sarah Gomez, both blasts sailing over the center-field fence, along with a three-run double to the left-field corner by Valdez. By the time the inning ended, the damage had been done and the Lady Chargers were ahead 16-1.

“It was amazing seeing the ball (so well) and feeling it go off the bat (and over the wall),” Gomez said of her home run that made the score 13-1. “It felt good to help my team in our rally.

“Since I’m a freshman, it’s great to experience all of this (success) with my teammates,” Gomez added. “I hope we can go as far as state. Hopefully we can do it.”

In all, the Lady Chargers logged 10 hits with Valdez and Elizabeth Abete each collecting two.

The Lady Toros used two pitchers who combined to issue nine walks while hitting a batter.

An errant pickoff attempt from catcher to third base was off the mark and went into left field, allowing Cigarroa’s only run to score in the top of the second inning. Earlier in the same inning, Adriana Solorio had a single to right-center field for the Lady Toros’ only hit.

Brownsville Veterans coach Rayner Cardenas said it appears his team next will face District 30-5A third-place Gregory-Portland in the area round of the playoffs during the coming week. Details of that matchup are to be finalized in the next few days, he said.

Cardenas said the Lady Chargers didn’t take anything for granted going against Cigarroa.

“Any time you get to the playoffs, you have two quality teams (facing each other),” he said. “Both teams have battled through the season and they’re in the playoffs for a reason. We knew Cigarroa was going to come out and give us everything they had, and they did. They put up a good fight, which is what we wanted and we needed. But ultimately, we started making better contact, got our sticks going, saw better pitches and started hitting the ball better. That was the difference.

“When you have games like this with the changing weather, changing start times and having alternate sites, it kind of throws things off a little bit,” Cardenas added. “We came out here and our rhythm was off a little bit (early), but we got back on track. I’m pleased we were able to handle that adversity. I don’t want to have to do it again, but if we have to go through it again (due to the weather or whatever), at least we’ve already had a sample of what it’s like. It’s no fun being on the bus and driving around looking for a site to play (when the weather becomes a factor).”

Cardenas said things are looking positive for his girls.

“I think our girls are focused, we’re peaking at the right time and hopefully we can keep it rolling against a really tough opponent (in Gregory-Portland),” he said. “It’s going to be a great series.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

LOS FRESNOS — The Los Fresnos Falcons successfully defended their District 32-6A baseball championship in dramatic fashion Friday on their home field.

A bases-loaded sacrifice fly to shallow right field by Joseph Munoz with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning plated Johnny Cadengo from third base to lift the Falcons over the Weslaco High Panthers 2-1.

The contest went into extra innings with the score tied 1-1 after seven frames.

On the final play of the game, Cadengo beat a throw to the plate from the outfield just in time to ignite a victory celebration by the Los Fresnos players, coaches and fans.

“This is a great feeling and it’s awesome,” Los Fresnos coach Rene Morales said. “He (Munoz) made a play (with that sacrifice fly) and it was one of those things that allowed us to make a play (with Cadengo coming home from third). He (Munoz) came through when we needed him.”

The Falcons and Panthers entered Friday’s contest tied for first place in 32-6A with 10-3 records. It was the final game on the district schedule for both ballclubs.

“It felt great to win,” said J.J. Sanchez, Los Fresnos’ center fielder/pitcher. “Our team came through when it had to.

“It’s great to win the district title, but we can’t assume anything,” he added. “We have to keep on playing hard in the playoffs. This win makes us feel very confident (for the postseason). Once we’re heated up, it’s hard to stop us.”

Los Fresnos had beaten Weslaco High 3-2 on Tuesday in Weslaco as the Falcons put themselves in a position to repeat as 32-6A champions with another win Friday.

“This game was going to be a tough one and we knew that from the very beginning,” said the Falcons’ Charles Chapa, a third baseman. “It felt good to come out on top at the end of it.

“We had a real solid week of practice and we came together as a team (to beat Weslaco High in back-to-back games),” Chapa added. “It gives us momentum for the playoffs.”

The Falcons improved to 22-7 overall, while the Panthers are now 23-5 on the season.

Both teams are headed to the Class 6A playoffs and will face bi-district opponents to be determined from District 31-6A.

Los Fresnos led 1-0 after three innings before the Panthers tied the score 1-1 with a run in the top of the sixth.

The Falcons took a 1-0 lead when J.J. Sanchez hit an RBI sacrifice fly to left field with one out in the bottom of the third that enabled Carlos Perez to dash home from third.

The Panthers evened the score 1-1 in the top of the sixth with two outs when Weslaco High’s Raul Camarena hit into what appeared to be a routine second baseman to first base put-out. But a throwing error on the play allowed Axel Camarena to make it home from third to knot the score.

The decisive bottom of the ninth began with Cadengo drawing a walk. Alex Salas then reached first on a fielder’s choice when the Panthers tried to throw out Candego at second, but he was ruled safe, which brought about a fairly heated discussion between the Weslaco High coaches and the officials. Still, the call at second stood and there were no outs. After Tony Gallegos’ mid-air bunt attempt was caught by the Weslaco High pitcher for the first out, Carlos Perez was hit in the back by a pitch and it loaded the bases, setting the stage for Munoz’s sacrifice-fly heroics.

Los Fresnos finished with seven hits, while Weslaco High had two, which were singles by Axel Camarena and Evan Margo.

Chapa and Hugo Sanchez each had a pair of singles for the Falcons.

Los Fresnos’ J.J. Sanchez picked up the pitching victory in relief of starter Christian Hernandez, who lasted until the top of the seventh. The two combined for 10 strikeouts, two walks and two hits allowed.

Rico Avila started on the mound for the Panthers and pitched into the eighth before he was replaced by Jacob Cavazos, who took the loss. Together, they struck out seven batters, walked three and gave up seven hits.

Each team committed an error.

By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

The ride home from San Antonio was quite a happy one.

For the second consecutive year, the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers have qualified for the Class 5A state golf tournament.

After making history a year ago by becoming Brownsville’s first girls golf team to play in the UIL state tournament, the Lady Chargers have done it again thanks to their performance during Thursday’s final round at the Region IV-5A Tournament in San Antonio.

The District 32-5A champion Brownsville Veterans girls finished the two-day regional tournament at The Golf Club of Texas (par 72) in the Alamo City with a 328-329 — 657 score, which was second behind Sharyland High, the tournament’s winning team with a 310-314 — 624 total. The third-place team was Boerne Champion (351-322 — 673).

In UIL regional competition, the top three teams and the top three individual players not on a state-qualifying team earn berths to play in the next month’s state tournament at Georgetown.

The regional tournaments for the 6A/5A boys were played Monday and Tuesday in San Antonio and the same tournaments for the girls followed Wednesday and Thursday. The 6A boys and girls played at Republic Golf Club (par 71).

Raquel Flores of Sharyland High shot 72-73 — 145 and was the overall medalist at the Region IV-5A girls event. Zayda Cedillo of Victoria East shot 77-75 — 152 and was the runner-up medalist.

Brownsville Veterans’ Julie Lucio (78-76 — 154) and Stephen F. Austin’s Hannah Choi (79-75 — 154) tied for the third medalist spot and Lucio won a two-hole playoff to take the No. 3 medalist award. Cedillo, Choi and Gabriela McNelly of Medina Valley (80-75 — 155) still go to state as the top three individuals not on state-qualifying teams.

“The (Brownsville Veterans) girls played tough both days and held their composure on a difficult golf course,” Lady Chargers coach Thomas Abete said. “Every girl contributed to this great team accomplishment. Julie finishing as third-place medalist on the second playoff hole with a one-and-a-half-foot birdie putt against the SFA girl was icing on the cake.

“I am extremely happy these girls will represent Brownsville ISD, Valley golfers and our community at the upcoming state tournament (again),” he added.

For Brownsville Veterans, Fahtima Avila finished sixth individually by shooting 74-84 — 158, while Cecilia Garza shot 87-82 — 169. Teammates Gigi Ramirez (97-87 — 184) and Anisa Nieto (89-101 — 190) rounded out the scores for the Lady Chargers.

The 32-5A runner-up Lopez Lady Lobos also played in the regional tournament and finished 11th out of 16 teams.

Meanwhile, there were not any Valley qualifiers for state at the Region IV-6A Tournament for girls played at the same time at Republic Golf Club, also in San Antonio.

The best showing by a Valley team Thursday at the Region IV-6A event was turned in by Los Fresnos, which finished eighth with a 338-374 — 712 total. Playing for the Lady Falcons were Brianna Munoz, Jossie Garcia, Kasandra Garcia, Natali Barrera and Alexandra Montes.

No Valley golfer finished in the top 15. The best showing individually was 18th place by Mission High’s
Mia Lerma (79-74 — 153) and 29th by Harlingen High’s Micaela Leandro (78-83 — 161). Hanna’s Alexis Rodriguez was also in the field as an individual competitor.

The top three Region IV-6A medalists were all from Austin Westlake. They were Sadie Englemann (70-69 — 139), Bentley Cotton (66-74 — 140) and Madelyn Jones (70-74 — 144).

The top three teams were Westlake (281-293 — 574), Austin Lake Travis (291-302 — 593) and San Antonio Reagan (300-298 — 598).

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

The Mission Veterans Memorial Lady Patriots gained the upper hand Thursday in their Class 5A best-of-three softball playoff series with the Lopez Lady Lobos.

The District 31-5A co-champion Lady Patriots (17-8) led 8-0 after two innings and cruised to a 12-3 victory over the District 32-5A fourth-place Lady Lobos (14-18) at the Lopez field.

“I think my team was very much composed, and I think that was very good for our players because sometimes they get a little rattled,” Lady Patriots coach Vivian Ray said. “They stayed pretty calm and that helped us.

“I expected the game to be close because we barely beat Lopez (8-7) in the La Joya Tournament in February,” Ray added. “I also expected our bats to be on fire in this game, and to the degree that they were, I think we can (still) do a little bit better, but overall, I thought we did pretty well.”

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 7 tonight at Mission Veterans. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 5 p.m. Saturday at Lopez.

The Lady Lobos gave up 10 walks through the course of the game. With bases loaded three times in the top of the second inning, two of those walks, plus a batter that was hit by a pitch, accounted for bringing in three runs and didn’t help the Lady Lobos’ cause at all.

“We struggled with our pitching and gave up too many walks against a team that you just can’t do that against,” Lopez coach Jesse Martinez said. “Mission Veterans has good hitters, and if you give them a couple of walks, they’re going to capitalize, and that’s exactly what they did.

“Mission Veterans is a good-hitting team and unfortunately our pitching just didn’t come around,” Martinez added. “We had some moments when we had an opportunity to score some runs, but we just didn’t come through.”

The highlight Thursday for the Lady Lobos came in the bottom of the sixth inning when Kasi Rubio smashed a two-run homer over the wall in right-center field. The Lady Lobos were behind 12-1 at that point though, so her blast just cut the lead to 12-3.

Also, Rubio had an RBI single in the bottom of the third to make it 8-1. She batted 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the game.

Rubio started on the mound for Lopez, but was soon replaced in the top of the second inning by Alex Castro with the Lady Lobos behind 4-0. Castro pitched the rest of the way for Lopez.

Iliana Contreras went the distance for the Lady Patriots in earning the pitching victory. She allowed five hits, struck out three batters and walked two.

Mission Veterans scored two runs in the first inning, six in the second, two in the fifth and two more in the sixth.

MaKenzie Gerlach led the Lady Patriots with three hits, including a double, and four RBIs, going 3-for-3 at the plate.

Teammates Contreras, Stephanie Torres and Justine Galvan each collected a pair of hits. Contreras had three RBIs, Galvan two and Torres one.

“I just think it’s an exciting little series we have going with Lopez, and now we’ll see what we can do at home,” Ray said.

By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

Mother Nature brought rain and lightning to Central Texas on Wednesday afternoon, interrupting the opening round of the Region IV-6A/5A girls golf tournaments in San Antonio.

Both the Class 6A tournament at Republic Golf Club and the Class 5A tournament at The Golf Club of Texas were postponed due to adverse weather with a number of players still on the courses. Weather permitting at both sites, the first round will resume at 7:30 a.m. today with the final round to be completed later in the day.

In UIL regional competition, the top three teams and the top three individual players not on a state-qualifying team earn berths to play in the next month’s Class 6A and 5A state tournaments at Georgetown.

Three of five girls for Brownsville Veterans Memorial were able to complete their opening rounds Wednesday at The Golf Club of Texas before the rain and lightning halted play.

Playing on a par-72 layout, their scores were Fahtima Avila, 74; Julie Lucio, 78; and Cecilia Garza, 87.

Of the ones who completed the first round Wednesday, Avila’s 74 was the second-best score behind a 72 by Sharyland High’s Raquel Flores.

The District 32-5A champion Lady Chargers are seeking back-to-back team appearances at state in 5A.

“Fahtima was calm and confident all through her round, making some really great golf shots,” Lady Chargers coach Thomas Abete said. “She did what she needed to do on Day 1 and played par golf. Julie is only six strokes behind first place and played very well to stay in the mix of things through the day.

“The girls still have a lot of work to get done, but will take it hole by hole and one shot at a time,” Abete added.

The Lopez girls are also playing in the Region IV-5A event as the 32-5A runner-up, but none of their scores were posted Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the District 32-6A champion Los Fresnos girls were all able to complete their opening rounds at the Region IV-6A Tournament.

The top score Wednesday for the Lady Falcons was turned in by Brianna Munoz, who shot an 81 on a par-71 layout. After Munoz came Jossie Garcia, 84; Kasandra Garcia, 86; Natali Barrera, 87; and Alexandra Montes, 94.

“It’s not easy playing (in a tournament) where almost every girl is committed to some college and (still) expect to complete,” Los Fresnos coach Luis Gonzalez said. “Our girls approached the day very professionally. We were in the first flight with (San Antonio) Reagan, Smithson Valley and (Austin) Westlake. Our girls weren’t rattled or intimidated. They hit their marks, and when a shot missed the zone, they were able to manage and limit any damage.

“I am very pleased for them,” Gonzalez added. “You can’t help but feel happy for them and their parents. When you see underclassmen (like they are) who have less than three years of experience playing this difficult sport competitively at such a high level, the dedication needed can sometimes be overwhelming. Day One was going to be a challenge knowing we do not see that caliber of play regularly (and we held our own).”

Playing as individual competitors from 32-6A, Harlingen High’s Micaela Leandro shot a 78 and Hanna’s Alexis Rodriguez shot an 85.

“Micaela had a good round, I just wish it was a few strokes better,” Harlingen High coach Chris Milligan said. “There were a couple of putts that could have fallen. I think she still has a chance to make it to state. She needs to do what she did at the district tournament (and have a strong showing in the final round).”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS | Staff Writer

Hanna’s Santiago Garcia has come oh so close at the Region IV-6A golf tournament.

Garcia, a senior four-time District 32-6A individual champion, came up one stroke shy of forcing a playoff that would have given him a chance to qualify for next month’s UIL state tournament during the final round of Tuesday’s Region IV-6A tournament at San Antonio’s Republic Golf Club.

As a sophomore, Garcia was beaten in an extra-hole playoff to determine a qualifier for state.

Garcia was seeking his first trip to state Tuesday and came up just short.
“That’s golf,” said Adrian Garcia, Santiago’s father and golf coach at Hanna.

The top three teams and the top three individual players not on a state-qualifying team earned berths to play in the Class 6A boys state tournament May 14-15 in Georgetown.

Garcia, who last week signed a full-ride scholarship to play golf next school year at Texas A&M International in Laredo, shot 71-72 — 143 over two days on the par-71 course at Republic Golf Club.

The Hanna golfer was edged out for the third individual spot that qualified for state by McAllen Memorial’s C.W. Phillips, who shot 70-72 — 142.

The two other individual players not on state-qualifying teams who are going to Georgetown were Austin Lake Travis‘ Trey Bosco (69-70 — 139) and San Antonio Reagan’s Christian Hansen (71-70 — 141).

The golfer taking top medalist honors was Austin Westlake‘s Matthew Denton (68-66 — 134), who edged teammate Jackson Davenport (69-65 — 134) in a one-hole playoff for first place. San Antonio Johnson’s Garrett Martin (67-68 — 135) came in close behind the two Westlake golfers for third place individually.

Westlake was the team champion with a 276-270 — 546 total. San Antonio Johnson was the runner-up with a 283-287 — 570 total. The third-place team qualifying for state was Austin Vandegrift (292-289 — 581).

San Antonio Reagan (299-300 — 599) was the fourth-place team and Harlingen High (308-307 — 615) came in fifth. Turning in the top score for the Cardinals was Dylan Martinez (74-69 — 143).

The Region IV-5A boys tournament was played Monday and Tuesday at The Golf Club of Texas, also in San Antonio.

Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Daniel Yznaga and Skye Schweitzer played in the Region IV-5A event as individual competitors and both finished off the pace of the top golfers qualifying for trips to state.

Meanwhile, the Region IV-6A/5A tournaments for girls begin play today and run through Thursday. The 6A regional tournament will be played at Republic Golf Club, while the 5A regional event will take place at The Golf Club of Texas.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS | Staff Writer

Hanna’s Santiago Garcia shot an even-par 71 Monday during the opening round of the Region IV-6A boys golf tournament at San Antonio’s Republic Golf Club.

Garcia’s score keeps him within striking distance of the lead, although he is tied for ninth place. The top three finishers after today’s final round advance to the UIL Class 6A state tournament in May at Georgetown.

The individual co-leaders after Monday’s round were San Antonio Johnson teammates Johnny Keefer and Garrett Martin. Both came in with 4-under-par 67s at the end of the first 18 holes.

Third place belonged to Austin Westlake‘s Matthew Denton with a 68, while three players were tied for fourth place at 69. They are Austin Westlake teammates J. Holland Humphries and Jackson Davenport along with Austin Lake Travis‘ Trey Bosco.

Two players are tied at 70 and three players, including Garcia, are tied at 71.

Garcia, a four-time District 32-6A individual champion, is seeking his first trip to the state tournament. The senior standout signed a full-ride scholarship last week to play golf next school year at Texas A&M International University in Laredo.

Meanwhile, in Monday’s team competition at the Region IV-6A tournament, Austin Westlake, with its top four players coming in at 68, 69, 69 and 70, took the first-round lead at 276. San Antonio Johnson was second, seven strokes off the pace, at 283.

Austin Vandegrift was third at 292, San Antonio Reagan fourth at 299 and Smithson Valley fifth at 305.

Harlingen High was the top Valley school in the team standings in sixth place at 308. McAllen Memorial was 10th at 322, followed by Edinburg North (13th, 333), McAllen High (14th, 337), Hanna (15th, 347) and PSJA North (16th, 367).

The Region IV-5A tournament for boys is also being played at the same time at The Golf Club of Texas, which is also in San Antonio. Brownsville Veterans Memorial teammates Daniel Yznaga and Skye Schweitzer are playing in the

Region IV-5A tournament as individual qualifiers.

The Region IV-6A/5A tournaments for girls are scheduled Wednesday and Thursday in San Antonio at the same courses where the boys are competing.

By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

The challenge of qualifying for state awaits golfers this week at the Region IV-6A/5A tournaments in San Antonio.

The boys play today and Tuesday, while the girls play Wednesday and Thursday.

The Class 6A tournaments will be played at San Antonio’s Republic Golf Club, while the Class 5A tournaments will take place at the Golf Club of Texas, also in the Alamo City.

The goal this week will be to get to the UIL state tournament in May by finishing as one of the top three teams or finishing as one of the top three individual golfers not on a state-qualifying team.

“I’m excited for the regional tournament,” said Hanna golfer Santiago Garcia, a four-time District 32-6A champion who is bidding to advance to state for the first time as a senior. “We’ll just see how I do Monday and Tuesday. I feel prepared (to do well).”

Garcia shot an 11-under-par 61 during the final round of the 32-6A tournament at Weslaco’s Tierra Santa Golf Club on April 5 to capture his fourth straight individual district title. The 61 tied Garcia with two other golfers for the best-ever 18-hole round by a Texas high school player in UIL competition.

“I’m really just hoping to get the job done (and make it to state) regardless of what my score may be,” said Garcia, who last week signed a full-ride athletic scholarship to play his sport next school year at Texas A&M International University in Laredo. “Yes, having shot that 61 does give me confidence. Don’t get me wrong, that 61 was amazing. I hope I can shoot another 61 at regionals, but if I can’t, I just want to shoot a score that will get me to state.

“I just have to wake up in the morning, follow my same routine and keep on fighting (on the course) to see what I can do,” he added. “The opportunity for me is there. It’s just about me going out and getting it done.

“I’ve always been a big believer in faith, so we’ll leave it in the Good Lord’s hands. I know He can guide me through this regional tournament, and hopefully, I can get that ticket to state.”

In the Region IV-6A boys tournament at Republic Golf Club, Garcia will be joined by teammates Austin O’Brien, Marco Gonzalez and Marco Sanchez, who made it to regionals as the 32-6A runner-up team at district behind Harlingen High (Dylan Martinez, Nate Newman, Mikey Bullock, Nicholas Galvan and Sammy Rios).

Also competing at the 6A boys regional event as individual qualifiers are Weslaco High’s Quin Vos and Harlingen South’s Brandon Garza.

At the 5A boys regional at The Golf Club of Texas, Brownsville Veterans Memorial teammates Daniel Yznaga and Skye Schweitzer will be playing today as individual qualifiers.

The Region IV-4A tournament for boys starts today at Corpus Christi’s Lozano Golf Course. Representing the Port Isabel Tarpons at the event will be Tyler Francis and Fernando Lopez Jr.

Meanwhile, in the 6A/5A girls regional tournaments starting Wednesday, a number of area golfers are entered.

Headlining the list of qualifiers at Republic Golf Club are the 32-6A champion Los Fresnos Lady Falcons (Natali Barrera, Jossie Garcia, Alexandra Montes, Kasandra Garcia and Brianna Munoz). Weslaco High was the 32-6A runner-up team that also qualified, while the individual qualifiers from 32-6A are Harlingen High’s Micaela Leandro and Hanna’s Alexis Rodriguez.

Returning to the Region IV-5A tournament for girls will be the District 32-5A champion Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers (Julie Lucio, Fahtima Avila, Cecilia Garza, Giovana Ramirez and Anisa Nieto). The Lady Chargers won the regional tournament a year ago and advanced to the 5A state tournament, where they placed fifth.

Also playing at the Region IV-5A tournament are the Lopez Lady Lobos (Cecilia Velasquez, Sarahi Turrubiates, Johana Belmares and Vianney Pena), who finished second behind Brownsville Veterans at the 32-5A tournament.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS | Staff Writer

The Lopez Lady Lobos are going into the Class 5A state softball playoffs on a wave of momentum after winning Friday’s regular-season finale in decisive fashion at home against Pace.

With junior pitcher Alex Castro leading the way on the mound and at the plate, the Lady Lobos shut out the Lady Vikings 12-0 in five innings.

Castro recorded 10 strikeouts and belted a three-run homer over the center-field fence to end the contest early.

“I felt pretty amazed (with my performance),” Castro said. “I had a lot of emotion built up inside of me. I was really pumped up (to do well).

“It’s really exciting that we’re going back to the playoffs,” she added. “I believe we’re going to go farther than we’ve ever gone before.”

Lopez (14-17 overall, 8-6 in District 32-5A) finishes as the fourth-place team in its conference and will face District 31-5A co-champion Mission Veterans next week in the bi-district round of the 5A playoffs.

It will be a best-of-three series starting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Lopez. Game 2 will be at 7 p.m. Friday in Mission, and if the series goes to a third game, it will be played April 28 at 5 p.m. at Lopez.

It’s the second straight year for the Lady Lobos to advance to the postseason.

“We’ve been working hard and setting our goals (high) for this year,” Lady Lobos coach Jesse Martinez said. “We’ve had some struggles and we’ve had some success. We’re excited to be (right) here at this point and time.

“These girls are an excellent group of kids,” Martinez added. “We’re ready and poised to go hard into the playoffs and have some success. I think we have the team to do it.”
On Friday, the Lady Lobos led 2-0 after two innings, 7-0 after four innings and 12-0 after five frames thanks to Castro’s three-run smash over the center-field wall when there were two outs in the bottom of the fifth and the score was 9-0.

Castro and teammate Lorena Rodriguez each had a pair of hits for the Lady Lobos and finished with four and three RBIs, respectively. In all, Lopez had nine hits.

Rodriguez had a two-run double to deep center field in the bottom of the fourth to make it 5-0. She added an RBI single in the fifth for an 8-0 tally. Castro had an RBI single in the fourth to go with her game-ending, three-run homer in the fifth.

In going the distance on the mound, Castro, a right-hander, logged 10 strikeouts while tossing a four-hitter and hitting two batters plus walking one.

Meanwhile, Pace enjoyed one of its better seasons in recent years under coach Boris Vega, but did not make the playoffs. The Lady Vikings finish with a 10-19-1 overall record and a 5-9 mark in 32-5A.

Lauren Mares went the distance in taking the loss for Pace, finishing with six strikeouts plus one walk. Mares also led the Lady Vikings at the plate, batting 2-for-2 with a pair of singles.