One month remains in the high school baseball regular season, but this week brings blockbuster matchups that will potentially determine district champions once it’s all said and done.
District 32-5A heavy-hitters Harlingen South and Weslaco East are set to square off for two games this week as both the Hawks and Wildcats hold 10-0 records in district play.
Game 1 between the Hawks and Wildcats is set for 7 tonight at Weslaco East High School. Game 2 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Harlingen South High School.
East seniors Antonio Balboa, Nathan Rivas and Alex Solis have combined for 79 hits, 68 RBIs and nine home runs in 19 games this season. Solis also holds a 5-0 record with a 0.40 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 35.1 innings pitched. He’s surrendered just nine hits on the year.
Sophomore Aundre Guadarrama leads South’s pitching staff with a 5-0 record and a 0.67 ERA in 31.1 innings. He’s struck out 28 and allowed just 15 hits. Senior John Castellanos leads the Hawks with 22 hits and sophomore Daniel Lopez has a team-high 18 RBIs in 13 games played.
Rio Hondo and Lyford are also set to headline District 32-3A baseball this week as the Bobcats and Bulldogs have pummeled their opposition thus far.
Rio Hondo has opened the 2023 season with a 21-0 record overall and 3-0 mark in district, but face their toughest test to date in Lyford at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Rio Hondo High School.
Caleb Laster has a 12-0 record as a starter for the Bobcats with five shutouts, four complete games and a 0.16 ERA in 12 appearances. He’s pitched 43 innings and struck out 99 while allowing just one walk, 10 hits and one earned run.
Lyford is 13-7 on the year and 2-0 in district. Aiden Olivas-Romo leads all Bulldogs batters with a .472 batting average and 25 hits in 20 games.
LATEST RANKS
Weslaco East, Sharyland Pioneer and Sharyland High remain the only Rio Grande Valley teams to earn rankings in this week’s Diamond Pro/Texas High School Baseball state rankings.
The Wildcats are up to No. 7 in Class 5A with a 18-2 overall record. The Diamondbacks are ranked No. 11 with a 19-2-1 mark. The Rattlers round out the Valley’s ranked squads at No. 16 with a 17-3 record.
COMING IN HOT
Last week’s baseball action provided multiple upsets across the RGV to shake up district standings.
Mission Veterans swept La Joya Palmview with a 5-0 win in Game 1 and 1-0 victory in Game 2 in their two-game series. Jahziel Treviño and Rey Martinez pitched 6.2 scoreless innings in Games 1 and 2, respectively, to shutout the defending 30-5A champion Lobos in back-to-back games.
The Patriots now sit alone atop District 30-5A with a 6-0 record. Roma is second with a 5-1, setting up two key matchups this week between the Gladiators and Patriots. Game 1 is set for 7 tonight at Mission Veterans High School in Mission. Game 2 will be played at 4 p.m. Friday at Roma High School.
Meanwhile, the two top dogs in District 31-5A — Sharyland High and Sharyland Pioneer — both suffered their first losses in league play last week against a couple playoff hopefuls. Valley View took down Sharyland High 2-0 and McAllen Memorial topped Sharyland Pioneer 9-1.
The Diamondbacks and Rattlers remain tied for first in district with 9-1 records and are scheduled to play their two-game series the final week of the regular season.