VALLEY-BASEBALL SCHEDULE

Friday, April 28

District 31-6A

Edinburg Vela 18, Edinburg Economedes 0, 5 innings

PSJA Memorial 25, PSJS Southwest 1, 5 innings

PSJA High 9, Edinburg North 3

PSJA North 8, Edinburg High 7

District 31-5A

Valley View 6, Mission Veterans 3

Rio Grande City 7, Sharyland High 1

Roma 9, Sharyland Pioneer 0

Laredo Nixon 7, Laredo Martin 4

District 32-4A

Zapata 11, Raymondville 0

Progreso 10, Grulla 5

Hidalgo vs. La Feria, late

Port Isabel vs. Rio Hondo, not reported

VALLEY-BASEBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

Friday, May 5

6A Bi-District

Edinburg Vela at Brownsville Hanna, 7 p.m.

Laredo United South at McAllen High, 7 p.m.

PSJA High at Weslaco High, 7:30 p.m.

McAllen Rowe vs. Laredo Alexander

Harlingen High vs. Edinburg North

Edinburg Economedes vs. Los Fresnos

La Joya Palmview vs. Laredo United-SA Southwest winner, site and time TBD

La Joya High vs. Laredo United-SA Southwest winner, site and time TBD

5A Bi-District

Valley View at Mercedes, 7 p.m.

Rio Grande City at Brownsville Veterans, 7 p.m.

Mission Veterans at Donna High, 7 p.m.

Edcouch-Elsa at Roma, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 6

In the event of a tie after Game 2, the third game will be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2

6A Bi-District

McAllen High vs. Laredo United South at Unitrade Stadium, Laredo, 4 p.m.

Brownsville Hanna at Edinburg Vela, 3 p.m.

McAllen Rowe vs. Laredo Alexander

Harlingen High vs. Edinburg North

Edinburg Economedes vs. Los Fresnos

La Joya Palmview vs. Laredo United-SA Southwest winner, site and time TBD

La Joya High vs. Laredo United-SA Southwest winner, site and time TBD

5A Bi-District

Mercedes at Valley View, 11 a.m.

Brownsville Veterans at Rio Grande City, 1 p.m.

Donna High at Mission Veterans, 3 p.m.

Roma at Edcouch-Elsa, 4 p.m.

VALLEY-BASEBALL BOX SCORE

Friday’s Game

District 31-6A

EDINBURG VELA 18, EDINBURG ECONOMEDES 0, 5 innings

Economedes 000 00 — 0

Edinburg Vela 276 3x — 18

WP: Andre Martinez 5 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts.

EDINBURG VELA (18) — RJ Ochoa 3 for 3, 3 doubles, 5 RBIs; Nike Rodriguez 1 for 2, home run, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Matt Vela 2 for 2, 2 RBIs; Jonathan Navarro 2 for 4, RBI, 2 runs.

RECORDS: Edinburg Vela 15-6, 10-4 in District 31-6A

VALLEY-BASEBALL STANDINGS

District 30-6A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-McAllen High 23 3 11 1 —

x-La Joya Palmview 10 9 8 4 3

x-La Joya High 12 11 8 4 3

x-McAllen Rowe 11 12 6 6 5

Mission High 9 14 5 7 6

McAllen Memorial 13 9 4 8 7

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 2 19 0 12 11

District 31-6A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-PSJA High 23 3 13 1 —

x-Edinburg North 17 4 12 2 1

x-Edinburg Vela 15 6 10 4 3

x-Edinburg Economedes 12 10 7 7 6

PSJA North 13 11 6 8 7

Edinburg High 8 17 4 10 9

PSJA Memorial 9 16 4 10 9

PSJA Southwest 2 22 0 14 13

District 32-6A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-Los Fresnos 20 3 12 2 —

x-Brownsville Hanna 15 8 11 3 1

x-Harlingen High 14 8 9 5 3

x-Weslaco High 10 13 8 6 4

Weslaco East 9 15 5 9 7

Harlingen South 5 12 3 11 9

San Benito 7 14 3 11 9

Brownsville Rivera 4 14 2 12 10

District 31-5A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-Mission Veterans 23 4 14 2 —

x-Valley View 19 6 13 3 1

x-Rio Grande City 16 8 12 4 2

x-Roma 13 11 9 7 5

Sharyland High 12 15 7 9 7

Laredo Martin 8 16 5 11 9

Sharyland Pioneer 9 18 5 11 9

Laredo Cigarroa 5 21 4 12 10

Laredo Nixon 4 19 3 13 11

District 32-5A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-Edcouch-Elsa 15 8 13 1 —

x-Brownsville Veterans 14 7 11 3 2

x-Mercedes 10 11 7 7 6

x-Donna High 12 12 7 7 6

Brownsville Porter — — 6 8 7

Brownsville Lopez — — 5 9 8

Brownsville Pace 7 12 4 10 9

Donna North — — 3 11 10

SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

Class 6A’s Region IV is one of the tougher regions in Texas.

Heading into the regional tournament on Wednesday at The Republic golf course in San Antonio, McAllen Memorial’s C.W. Phillips knew the competition would be tough. He shot a 72 in the first round, putting him in a tie for sixth place.

“Coming into the day, I told C.W. all we have to do is shoot an even par, and we will see where the chips fall,” McAllen Memorial coach Celso Gonzalez said. “It was good enough today. I am very proud of him. He kept his composure, and he was focused. When he had one bad hole, he did not let that bother him. He had a goal, and luckily, today he accomplished it. I am very proud of him.”

Phillips trimmed a stroke off and shot a 71 in the final round. His 143 two-day score was good enough for fourth place and a bid into the state tournament as the highest finisher not on a state-qualifying team.

“As far as his goals, state was on his mind. It’s been on his mind all year,” Gonzalez said. “He’d say, ‘Coach, we are going to state,’ and I would say, ‘Well, it’s going to be a tough region to get out of, but if we get out of this region, which in my opinion is one of the hardest regions in golf to get out of … It’s going to be an uphill climb.’ But I told him, ‘You are just as good as anybody. They have to hit the ball just like we do.’ His mental game was there. Nothing bothered him. He was a grinder today.”

Phillips will be the lone 6A representative from the Valley at the state tournament. His Mustangs finished ninth with a score of 652. Harlingen High was 11th with a two-day score of 655. PSJA North (662), Edinburg Vela (672), McAllen High (685) and Weslaco High (688) finished 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th, respectively.

The next highest Valley finisher was Bradley McCaleb, who tied for the 15th spot with a score of 149.

About 25 miles away, at the Golf Club of Texas in San Antonio, the Class 5A Region IV tournament was taking place at the same time.

Sharyland High sophomore Jun Min Lee had what could only be described as a tough day when referring to the best golfer in the Valley. He shot a 71, putting him four strokes short of the regional title. His second-place finish secured a trip to state.

“He was excited,” Sharyland coach Fernando Rodriguez said. “He was down on himself a little bit, because the team is not advancing. They had a team meeting last night, and they were talking about it, and he was trying to get the kids up for it, but it’s a long 18 holes and things happen on the course.

“He held his game together and he stayed focused. The course was playing a little bit different today, and we don’t play this course enough during the year. It takes a while to get used to it. Jimmy is a good player, and it could have been worse, but he kept his focus and his mental game together and he was able to come in with a one-under par round today.”

The top golfer at the tournament, Alamo Heights’ Mac Meissner, put together a pair of 67 rounds for a 134 overall score. Earlier this season, at Alamo Heights’ district tournament, Meissner set the course record on the same course with a 61.

Lee and Meissner were tied after the first round, but Lee couldn’t keep up with the impressive pace in the final round.

“He struggled a little bit as far as making birdies,” Rodriguez said. “He was hitting good drives, but the greens weren’t holding today like they were yesterday. They were a little bit hard and stiff because of the wind. Yesterday, we had winds from the north, and today we had winds from the south.”

Not far behind Lee was Mission Veterans senior Diego Hernandez, who turned in consecutive rounds of 73. The two-day score of 146 put him into a three-way tie for third place, leading to a playoff for seeding and finish order. Hernandez fell short in the playoff but still earned a trip to state. His teammate, senior Aaron Martinez, finished with a score of 151, good for a tie for ninth place.

Edcouch-Elsa senior Canaan Vasquez had a heart-breaking end to his season. After a first-round score of 76, Edcouch-Elsa coach Bobby Hernandez said Vasquez knew he was too high and would need a big round to recover.

“We knew he had a chance,” Bobby Hernandez said. “We knew he needed to shoot at least one under or two under. He was even up until 17, and 18 was the last chance we had for birdie or eagle, so he wanted to go for two. He pushed the drive, and it was on the right rough. I told him, ‘Hey, just get out, put it on the fairway, and then get on.’ He hit it, and it stayed in the wasteland. Then he two-putted for a bogey. That was it. We knew where we were at. We knew that he had one bad shot that put him out. It is what it is. I’m proud of him and proud of the way he played.”

Vasquez finished tied for sixth with a score of 150, just four strokes off the third-place finishers.

“He did very well,” Bobby Hernandez said. “He did a very good job of representing himself and representing the Valley. There is nothing to be ashamed of. He played great and came out just a little bit short.”

Sharyland High (643) finished fourth, and Mission Veterans (653) came in fifth. Brownsville Veterans scored 709, putting it in ninth place. Edcouch-Elsa was 14th with a score of 792.

After Martinez, the next highest Valley finisher was Sharyland High’s Victor Martinez, who tied for 22nd with a score of 160.

In all, three Valley golfers are headed to the state tournament on May 22: Sharyland’s Lee, Veterans’ Hernandez and Memorial’s Phillips.

“That’s exciting,” Rodriguez said. “I think this is the first time that we have two medalists coming out from our region in 5A. Last year, we had a couple of kids in 6A that advanced as well. That’s great news. That says a lot about Valley golf. The kids are becoming more competitive, and we are able to compete with the San Antonio and Austin schools up there.”

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VALLEY-GOLF RESULTS
CLASS 6A REGION IV TOURNAMENT
At The Republic G.C.
San Antonio
First Round
TEAM SCORES
1. Austin Westlake, 282; 2. SA Johnson, 301; 3. SA Churchill, 304; 4. Austin Lake Travis, 305; 5. New Braunfels, 308; 6. Smithson Valley, 311; 7. Brandeis, 317; 8. SA Clark, 319; 9. Laredo United, 322; 10. Harligen High, 327; 11. Laredo Alexander, 328; 12. McAllen Memorial, 330; T13. McAllen High, 339; T13. PSJA North, 339; 15. Edinburg Vela, 340; 16. Weslaco High, 349.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
1. Reese Ramsey, Austin Westlake, 66
T2. Mike Yang, SA Brennan, 70
T2. Matthew Denton, Austin Westlake, 70
T2. Brett Allen, SA Churchill, 70
5. Andres Acevedo, Brandeis, 71
T6. C.W. Phillips, McAllen Memorial, 72
T6. Joel Alfaro, Laredo United, 72
T8. Michael Rome, Austin Westlake, 73
T8. Reid Davenport, Austin Westlake, 73
T10. Johnny Keefer, SA Johnson, 74
T10. Thomas Bockholt, Austin Westlake, 74
T10. Bradley McCaleb, Weslaco High, 74
T10. Jordan Stagg, Smithson Valley, 74
T10. Justin Abshire, SA Johnson, 74
T10. Trey Bosco, Austin Lake Travis 74

CLASS 5A REGION IV TOURNAMENT
At Golf Club of Texas
San Antonio
First Round
TEAM SCORES
1. Alamo Heights, 293; 2. Boerne Champions, 310; 3. SF Austin A, 314; 4. Sharyland High, 319; 5. Mission Veterans, 328; 6. SF Austin B, 342; 7. Victoria West, 345; 8. Calallen, 349; 9. Uvalde, 367; 10. Victoria East, 370; 11. Gregory-Portland, 371; 12. Brownsville Veterans, 372; 13. Floresville, 402; 14. Edcouch-Elsa, 412; 15. SA Brackenridge, 484; 16. SA Jefferson, 1403.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
T1. Mac Meissner, Alamo Heights, 67
T1. Jun Min Lee, Sharyland High, 67
T3. Diego Hernandez, Mission Veterans, 73
T3. Ben Lake, Victoria East, 73
T5. Forest Miller, S.F. Austin 1, 74
T5. Sam Berryman, Alamo Heights, 74
7. Parker Ray, Alamo Heights, 75
T8. Ben Snelgrove, Kerrville Tivy, 76
T8. Canaan Vasquez, Edcouch-Elsa, 76
T8. Kenner Mangold, Boerne Champion, 76

BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

In Mission, when fans talk about the Patriots’ dynasty, they aren’t referring to Bill Belichick’s team. They’re talking about coach Casey Smith’s Mission Veterans baseball team.

Mission Veterans picked up a 5-4 win over Sharyland High on Tuesday to clinch the District 31-5A championship outright.

The program now has five district championships. Those five have come consecutively over the last five seasons, and all five have come under coach Casey Smith.

“It’s nice, obviously,” Smith said. “It is always tough to win a district championship. Our senior class has won a district championship every year they have been in high school. Not every one of those kids were starters or contributors, but just to be able to say that, it doesn’t happen very often. It’s hard to win a district title, especially when you have good, tough teams in the district like we do.”

It all started for the Patriots in their first tournament of the season. The Patriots hit the road to Georgetown to face some of the top teams in the state.

“I think to be your best, you have to compete at a high level,” Smith said. “Playing good competition creates that. We have good teams here in the Valley, but it’s nice to get out of the Valley and play good competition outside the Valley.”

The Patriots look at the tops teams in Texas as their competition. Players say they believe Mission Vets is among the best teams in the state. The Patriots will get the chance to prove it as they begin their playoff push with a bi-district series against Donna High beginning May 5.

Before that, though, they have one last game on the schedule. Mission Vets has earned the luxury of treating Friday’s game against Valley View as a tuneup for the playoffs. Smith says he will play some players who haven’t had as much playing time this season.

“We are probably going to treat it more like a scrimmage or a non-district game than anything else,” Smith said. “We will probably get a look at some of the other guys as opposed to our frontline guys. It’s really important, because it’s important to get those guys their work. It’s a good thing.”

TITLE REMATCH

In a rematch of two of the best teams in the Valley, the stakes are high on Friday. PSJA High and Edinburg North both enter the game at 12-1 in district. The winner of the game will clinch the District 31-6A championship outright and be the top seed in the playoffs.

“It’s a big game. It’s a showdown we have been looking forward to,” PSJA High coach Marco Guajardo said. “It’s going to be a playoff atmosphere, and it’s going to be a great game. Especially against Edinburg North. We had a great game the first time around, and we have been looking forward to it.”

“This is what you play for,” Edinburg North coach Damian Gonzalez added. “I keep telling the kids, ‘You always want to be in a situation where you are playing for a title at the end of the year.’ The guys have definitely worked extremely hard all year to put themselves in this situation.”

For Gonzalez, who would be pitching was never in question. Senior Giancarlo Servin has been the ace all year. The Texas A&M-Kingsville commit has been as steady as a surgeon on the mound, with a 2.13 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 46 innings pitched.

“He’s been our guy the last couple years,” Gonzalez said. “Whenever we get into problems, he’s always done a good job of bailing us out on the mound. We had to bring him in the other day to help us out. He’s got two saves on the year. We have been trying to limit him on how much he’s pitching, obviously, because of the regulation now that we have on the amount of pitches a pitcher can throw, but also to take care of him at the next level.”

Servin pitched in the first matchup and struggled in one of his toughest starts of the year, although the umpire in the game wasn’t doing him any favors with an erratic strike zone. The Bears have that familiarity with Servin now.

“We did get to see Servin, and we have seen him in the past,” Guajardo said. “So, we know what he’s got. That’s going to help us a little bit, but he’s obviously really tough anyway. If he’s on, he’s on. We just have to do what we can to get on base.”

On the other end, Marc Castillo was on the mound for the Bears in the first game, but Castillo threw on Tuesday and will not be available to start. Instead, the Bears will throw their other top starter, sophomore Cheke Marroquin. In 33 innings, Marroquin has 49 strikeouts and a 1.06 ERA.

“He’s fired up for it,” Guajardo said. “He’s looking forward to it. He really wanted the ball, so I will give him that chance.”

The Cougars have yet to face Marroquin.

“I think that is a good plus,” Guajardo said. “They have scouted us, and they have seen him throw, but their hitters haven’t gotten the chance to see his stuff. That’s going to be a little positive for us.”

The district title would mean a lot to both teams. For North, it would be the third in school history and also the third in four years.

“We have two district title numbers up there (on the wall at our field), two out of the last three,” Gonzalez said. “One thing that this group has said is, ‘We want to be the guys that bring home three out of four trophies.’ One thing we have preached to these kids this year is that we definitely have a team that could make a very deep playoff run. I believe we have the pitching and the hitting, and we definitely have the defense. We have a lot of things in place.”

For the Bears, this would be the sixth district championship under Guajardo. They joined District 31-6A this year, coming from 5A, and Guajardo said winning the title in the first year would be a distinguished honor.

“It would mean a lot to win it,” Guajardo said. “Especially in this district, with these guys, because every game has been tough. It would show a lot about our team. It’s the great atmosphere. It’s just going to be great to have a chance to fight for that. Edinburg North is a senior ball club, and they have the advantage of experience, but our young guys, they don’t back down, and they have been fighting all year, and I think they will be ready for the task.”

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TOP TEN

Team Rec. Prev.

1. McAllen High 22-3 1

2. Mission Veterans 22-3 2

3. PSJA High 22-3 3

4. Edinburg North 17-3 4

6. Los Fresnos 10-3 6

5. Edcouch-Elsa 15-8 5

7. Valley View 19-6 7

8. Brownsville Hanna 15-8 8

9. Zapata 13-9 9

10. Hidalgo 13-12 10

STADNINGS

x-clinched playoff berth

y-clinched district title

District 30-6A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-McAllen High 23 3 11 1 —

x-La Joya Palmview 10 9 8 4 3

x-La Joya High 12 11 8 4 3

x-McAllen Rowe 11 12 6 6 5

Mission High 9 14 5 7 6

McAllen Memorial 13 9 4 8 7

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 2 19 0 12 11

District 31-6A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

x-PSJA High 22 3 12 1 —

x-Edinburg North 17 3 12 1 —

x-Edinburg Vela 14 6 9 4 3

x-Edinburg Economedes 12 9 7 6 5

PSJA North 12 11 5 8 7

Edinburg High 8 16 4 9 8

PSJA Memorial 8 16 3 10 9

PSJA Southwest 2 21 0 13 12

District 32-6A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-Los Fresnos 20 3 12 2 —

x-Brownsville Hanna 15 8 11 3 1

x-Harlingen High 14 8 9 5 3

x-Weslaco High 10 13 8 6 4

Weslaco East 9 15 5 9 7

Harlingen South 5 12 3 11 9

San Benito 7 14 3 11 9

Brownsville Rivera 4 14 2 12 10

District 31-5A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-Mission Veterans 23 3 14 1 —

x-Valley View 18 6 12 3 2

x-Rio Grande City 15 8 11 4 3

Roma 11 12 8 7 6

Sharyland High 12 14 7 8 7

Laredo Martin 8 15 5 10 9

Sharyland Pioneer 9 17 5 10 9

Laredo Cigarroa 5 21 4 12 10.5

Laredo Nixon 3 19 2 13 12

District 32-5A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-Edcouch-Elsa 15 8 13 1 —

x-Brownsville Veterans 14 7 11 3 2

x-Mercedes 10 11 7 7 6

x-Donna High 12 12 7 7 6

Brownsville Porter — — 6 8 7

Brownsville Lopez — — 5 9 8

Brownsville Pace 7 12 4 10 9

Donna North — — 3 11 10

District 32-4A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-Zapata 13 9 11 2 —

x-Hidalgo 13 12 10 3 1

x-Grulla 12 9 9 4 2

x-Port Isabel 13 6 8 5 3

Rio Hondo 12 11 6 7 5

Progreso 9 12 4 9 7

Raymondville 4 19 3 10 8

La Feria 7 11 3 10 8

District 32-3A

Overall District

Team W L W L GB

xy-Lyford 10 6 7 1 —

x-Santa Rosa 10 9 6 2 1

x-Monte Alto 5 7 3 5 4

x-Edinburg IDEA Quest 0 10 0 8 7

x-clinched playoff berth

y-clinched district title

VALLEY-BOYS GOLF RESULTS

CLASS 6A REGION IV TOURNAMENT

At The Republic G.C.

San Antonio

First Round

TEAM SCORES

1. Austin Westlake, 282; 2. SA Johnson, 301; 3. SA Churchill, 304; 4. Austin Lake Travis, 305; 5. New Braunfels, 308; 6. Smithson Valley, 311; 7. Brandeis, 317; 8. SA Clark, 319; 9. Laredo United, 322; 10. Harligen High, 327; 11. Laredo Alexander, 328; 12. McAllen Memorial, 330; T13. McAllen High, 339; T13. PSJA North, 339; 15. Edinburg Vela, 340; 16. Weslaco High, 349.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES

1. Reese Ramsey, Austin Westlake, 66

T2. Mike Yang, SA Brennan, 70

T2. Matthew Denton, Austin Westlake, 70

T2. Brett Allen, SA Churchill, 70

5. Andres Acevedo, Brandeis, 71

T6. C.W. Phillips, McAllen Memorial, 72

T6. Joel Alfaro, Laredo United, 72

T8. Michael Rome, Austin Westlake, 73

T8. Reid Davenport, Austin Westlake, 73

T10. Johnny Keefer, SA Johnson, 74

T10. Thomas Bockholt, Austin Westlake, 74

T10. Bradley McCaleb, Weslaco High, 74

T10. Jordan Stagg, Smithson Valley, 74

T10. Justin Abshire, SA Johnson, 74

T10. Trey Bosco, Austin Lake Travis 74

CLASS 5A REGION IV TOURNAMENT

At Golf Club of Texas

San Antonio

First Round

TEAM SCORES

1. Alamo Heights, 293; 2. Boerne Champions, 310; 3. SF Austin A, 314; 4. Sharyland High, 319; 5. Mission Veterans, 328; 6. SF Austin B, 342; 7. Victoria West, 345; 8. Calallen, 349; 9. Uvalde, 367; 10. Victoria East, 370; 11. Gregory-Portland, 371; 12. Brownsville Veterans, 372; 13. Floresville, 402; 14. Edcouch-Elsa, 412; 15. SA Brackenridge, 484; 16. SA Jefferson, 1403.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES

T1. Mac Meissner, Alamo Heights, 67

T1. Jun Min Lee, Sharyland High, 67

T3. Diego Hernandez, Mission Veterans, 73

T3. Ben Lake, Victoria East, 73

T5. Forest Miller, S.F. Austin 1, 74

T5. Sam Berryman, Alamo Heights, 74

7. Parker Ray, Alamo Heights, 75

T8. Ben Snelgrove, Kerrville Tivy, 76

T8. Canaan Vasquez, Edcouch-Elsa, 76

T8. Kenner Mangold, Boerne Champion, 76

BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

After Day 1, the Sharyland High girls golf team was in third place with a score of 323 at the Class 5A Region IV championship.

Sharyland High sat just one stroke behind Victoria East.

The Rattlers came into the final round ready to compete. Third place would have still guaranteed them a spot at the state tournament, but the team wanted to make a push for the title.

In the end, they came a little short of Brownsville Veterans (610), but the Rattlers did manage to pass East and grab the second spot with a two-day score of 630.

“The girls have been working on this all year,” Sharyland coach Fernando Rodriguez said. “They were very excited about qualifying for state. Brownsville Veterans has a very good team.”

All year, Sharyland’s team has been led by Raquel Flores and Laura Rodriguez. The two have experience and skill and have been at or near the top of most of the tournaments the Rattlers have competed in. So when Laura Rodriguez had what Fernando Rodirguez described as a tough day, the rest of the group was there to help lift the team.

Flores shot a 68, the best round of the entire tournament, which catapulted her into second place in the individual scores. Carolina Cantu went from an 87 in the first round to a 79 in the final round, and Paulina Flores dropped three strokes between rounds.

“It was definitely a confidence booster to the whole team,” Fernando Rodriguez said. “They played together well, and everybody contributed to the team.”

Laura Rodriguez’s struggles still placed her near the top of the leaderboard. After scoring a 74 on the first day, tying her for the top spot, she shot a 78 on Day 2, putting her into a tie for fourth overall.

Sharyland Pioneer finished sixth at the regional meet with a score of 717. Rio Grande City’s Isabella Carmona, who qualified as an individual at the district tournament, tied for the 36th position with a two-day score of 175.

The other individual to qualify for regionals was Sharyland High freshman Maialen Erana. She finished tied for 49th with a 190.

“She played up to her potential,” Fernando Rodriguez said. “For being a freshman, she is going to take this as a learning experience. She has high expectations of herself. She was a little upset, but we talked to her afterwards, and hopefully she will be back here next year.”

No Valley teams or individuals advanced to state from the Class 6A Region IV championship. Weslaco High’s Anika Hovda was the standout, finishing tied for 11th individually with a two-day score of 144 — nine strokes shy of regional champion Morgan Lay of Austin Lake Travis.

Mission High finished 10th with a 746, La Joya Palmview finished 13th with a 777, Edinburg North finished 15th with an 806 and Edinburg High finished 16th with an 826. Austin Lake Travis was the team champion with a score of 550.

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CLASS 6A REGION IV

At The Republic GC

San Antonio

Second Round

TEAM SCORES

1. Austin Lake Travis, 550; 2. Austin Westlake, 560; 3. San Antonio Reagan, 602; 4. San Antonio Churchill, 607; 5. Comal Smithson Valley, 647; 6. New Braunfels, 654; 7. San Antonio Clark, 667; 8. Helotes O’Connor, 685; 9. Los Fresnos, 719; 10. Mission High, 746; 11. Del Rio, 749; 12. Brownsville Hanna, 767; 13, La Joya Palmview, 777; 14, Laredo Alexander, 801; 15, Edinburg North, 806; 16, Edinburg High, 826.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES

T1. Sara Camarena, Austin Lake Travis, 135

T1. Morgan Lay, Austin Lake Travis, 135

T3. Kaitlyn Papp, Austin Lake Travis, 137

T3. Sadie Engleman, Austin Westlake, 137

T5. Isabel Amezcua, New Braunfels, 141

T5. Jordan Shakelford, Austin Weslake, 141

T7. Madelyn Jones, Austin Westlake, 142

T7. Bentley Cotton, Austin Weslake, 142

T7. Randi Romack, Austin Weslake, 142

10. Sophia Digesualdo, Austin Vandegrift, 143

CLASS 5A REGION IV

At Golf Club of Texas

San Antonio

Second Round

TEAM SCORES

1. Brownsville Veterans, 610; 2. Sharyland High, 630; 3. Victoria East, 636; 4. Dripping Springs, 663; 5. Boenre Champion, 679; 6. Sharyland Pioneer, 717; 7. Victoria West, 725; 8. Austin S.F. Austin, 773; 9. Corpus Christi Veterans, 778; 10. Eagle Pass C.C. Winn, 806; 11. Brownsville Lopez, 817; 12. Uvalde, 823; 13. Corpus Christi Carroll, 826; 14. San Antonio Brackenridge, 1036; 15. San Antonio Memorial, 1102.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES

1. Julie Lucio, Brownsville Veterans, 143

2. Raquel Flores, Sharyland High, 147

3. Olivia Stokes, Austin S. F. Austin, 150

T4. Laura Rodriguez, Sharyland High, 152

T4. Charlotte Davis, Tuloso-Midway, 152

6. Hannah Choi, Austin S.F. Austin, 153

7. Vanessa Campos, Brownsville Veterans, 154

T8. Zayda Cedillo, Victoria East, 155

T8. Fahtima Avila, Brownsville Veterans, 155

T10. Madi Lake, Victoria East, 156

T10. Delaney Kelley, Marble Falls, 156

VALLEY-BASEBALL SCHEUDLE

Monday, April 24

District 30-6A

La Joya High 6, La Joya Palmview 5

Tuesday, April 25

District 30-6A

McAllen Rowe 7, McAllen Memorial 5

McAllen High 16, Mission High 2, 5 innings

District 31-6A

PSJA High 2, Edinburg Vela 1

Edinburg High 15, PSJA Southwest 5, 5 innings

Edinburg Economedes 4, PSJA North 3

Edinburg North 13, PSJA Memorial 5

District 32-6A

Los Fresnos 9, Weslaco High 5

San Benito 11, Harlingen High 4

Brownsville Hanna 8, Weslaco East 1

Brownsville Rivera at Harlingen South, not reported

District 31-5A

Mission Veterans 5, Sharyland High 4

Sharyland Pioneer 13, Laredo Martin 7

Valley View 5, Laredo Nixon 4

Roma 10, Laredo Cigarroa 0

District 32-5A

Edcouch-Elsa 9, Brownsville Porter 1

Brownsville Veterans 7, Donna High 6

Mercedes 21, Donna North 1

Brownsville Lopez at Brownsville Pace, not reported

District 32-4A

Hidalgo 9, Raymondville 1

Grulla 7, La Feria 0

Zapata 12, Rio Hondo 2

Port Isabel 3, Progreso 1

District 32-3A

Lyford 6, Santa Rosa 3

District 32-2A

Bruni 14, San Perlita 4

Friday, April 28

District 31-6A

Edinburg Economedes at Edinburg Vela, 7 p.m.

Edinburg High at PSJA North, 7 p.m.

PSJA High at Edinburg North, 7 p.m.

PSJA Memorial at PSJA Southwest, 7 p.m.

District 31-5A

Mission Veterans at Valley View, 7 p.m.

Sharyland Pioneer at Roma, 7 p.m.

Rio Grande City at Sharyland High, 7 p.m.

Laredo Nixon at Laredo Martin, 7 p.m.

District 32-4A

Hidalgo at La Feria, 7:30 p.m.

Grulla at Progreso, 7:30 p.m.

District 32-2A

Freer at San Perlita, 5 p.m.

VALLEY-BASEBALL BOX SCORE

Tuesday’s Game

District 31-6A

EDINBURG NORTH 13, PSJA MEMORIAL 5

Edinbrug North 202 303 3 — 13

PSJA Memorial 100 400 0 — 5

WP: Marc Esquivel 3.2 innings, 3 hits, 2 strikeouts. SAVE: Giancarlo Servin 3.1 innings, 5 strikeouts, o hits.

EDINBURG NORTH (13) — Saul Garza 2-3, 2 walks, 4 runs, triple; Joey Salinas 4-5, 3 RBI; Giancarlo Servin 3-5, 2 RBI, run.

RECORDS: Edinburg North 17-3, 12-1.

CLASS 6A REGION IV

At The Republic GC

San Antonio

First Round

TEAM SCORES

1. Austin Lake Travis, 272; 2. Austin Westlake, 283; 3. SA Reagan, 308; 4. SA Churchill, 309; 5. Smithson Valley, 325; 6. New Braunfels, 327; 7. SA Clark, 330; 8. Helotes O’Connor, 348; 9. Los Fresnos, 363; 10. Mission High, 372; 11. La Joya Palmview, 387; 12. Del Rio, 389; 13. Brownsville Hanna, 404; 14. Edinburg North, 408; 15. Laredo Alexander, 416; 16. Edinburg High, 421.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES

1. Morgan Lay, Austin Lake Travis, 66

2. Sara Camarena, Austin Lake Travis, 67

T3. Kaitlyn Papp, Austin Lake Travis, 68

T3. Sadie Engleman, Austin Westlake, 68

5. Isabel Amezcua, New Braunfels, 70

T6. Hanna Liu, Austin Lake Travis, 71

T6. Madelyn Jones, Austin Westlake, 71

T8. Jordan Shackelford, Austin Westlake, 72

T8. Katie Thorstenson, San Antonio Reagan, 72

T8. Elena Castanon, Austin Westlake M, 72

T8. Bentley Cotton, Austin Westlake, 72

CLASS 5A REGION IV

At Golf Club of Texas

San Antonio

First Round

TEAM SCORES

1. Brownsville Veterans, 307; 2. Victoria East, 322; 3. Sharyland High, 323; 4. Dripping Springs, 333; 5. Boerne Champion, 338; 6. Sharyland Pioneer, 362; 7. Victoria West, 372; 8. C.C. Veterans, 394; 9. Eagle Pass C.C. Winn, 396; 10. S.F. Austin, 404; 11. Broownsville Lopez, 407; 12. Uvalde, 415; 13. C.C. Carroll, 427; 14. SA Brackenridge, 508; 15. SA Memorial, 554; 16. Austin LBJ, 3112.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES

T1. Julie Lucio, Brownsville Veterans, 74

T1. Laura Rodriguez, Sharyland High, 74

T3. Olivia Stokes, S. F. Austin, 76

T3. Vanessa Campos, Brownsville Veterans, 76

5. Hannah Choi, S. F. Austin, 77

T6. Lindsay Koppel, Dripping Springs, 78

T6. Cecilia Garza, Brownsville Veterans, 78

T8. Cristina Pullen, Brownsville Veterans, 79

T8. Madi Lake, Victoria East, 79

T8. Kelsey Kane, Dripping Springs, 79

T8. Charlotte Davis, Tuloso-Midway M, 79

T8. Raquel Flores, Sharyland High, 79

BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER

After Day 1 of the District 30-6A tournament on April 10 at Shary golf course, McAllen Memorial sat at 326, 11 shots behind McAllen High (315).

Memorial coach Celso Gonzalez and the team were headed out to eat after the round.

“My golfers were jolly, and having a good time,” Gonzalez said. “I just gave them a little stern talking to and said, ‘You just got your butts whipped by 11 strokes, and you’re laughing. I’m not laughing. It’s not funny.’ I think they took that to heart.”

Every Memorial golfer dropped their score by a considerable margin from Day 1 to Day 2, and Memorial won with a score of 624, 17 shots better than McHi’s 641.

“We have been a 325 team all throughout the year,” Gonzalez said. “I knew we had the potential of putting a round together like we did on the second day. I just said to them on the second day like, ‘We just need to play to our abilities and not worry about anything else, but just handle what we can handle.’ I think that they took that to heart and they focused a lot, they were very focused the second day.”

The competition between the two schools was for the district title and bragging rights. The top two teams qualify for regionals, so Bulldogs and Mustangs were never in danger of not qualifying. But the rivalry between the schools extends to all sports, and the Mustangs wanted to win the district for a second year in a row.

“Ever since some of these new realignments, it’s been McAllen and us at every tournament,” Gonzalez said. “For the most part, we have had the upper hand, but they have been playing well, too. The first day, they played very well. But, all of (our golfers) improved from the first day to the second, and that’s all I can ask for.”

Gonzalez’s son, junior Ross Gonzalez, went from 84 to 82. Freshman Raul Gonzalez (unrelated) dropped four strokes from 83 to 79. Senior Trevor Kucia improved to 75 after posting an 82 in the opening round, and junior Kolton Henderson made the biggest improvement, going from 84 to 73.

C.W. Phillips won the individual title by scoring a 71 in the second round after an opening-day 77.

The confidence the team gained from that experience will be crucial as it prepares for the Class 6A Region IV tournament on Wednesday at The Republic golf course in San Antonio.

“The confidence, it builds,” Celso Gonzalez said. “Our practices after the district tournament have been very positive, very relaxed. That’s what I tell my kids. ‘Golf is hard enough, and when we start putting negatives in your mind, it’s very hard to overcome.’ My philosophy is every shot, let’s look at the positives. That will help their mental game a lot.”

In those practices, the focus has been on the short game. The Republic is a finicky course with large greens that can require three or four putts on a single hole.

“We are trying to refine our short game,” Celso Gonzalez said. “When we get to regionals, everybody has game. Where you are going to be successful is around the greens. So we are just trying to keep them focused on hitting fairways and greens in regulation and two-putt. That’s what we have been focusing on these last couple weeks. It’s about course management, just trying to put it on the fairway and hit greens and two-putt. I always tell them on this course, pars are good for us. If you have 18 pars and shoot a 72, that’s ideal.”

Memorial will meet McAllen High again at regionals. Given the talent offered from the rest of the region, the two teams will have to scratch and claw to grab one of the three berths to the state tournament.

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