The McAllen High Bulldogs brought home the District 31-5A championship and have launched themselves into the conversation as one of the top teams in the state, according to two of the latest Texas high school baseball polls.
McHi (26-4, 13-1) is Class 5A’s No. 4 team in Texas High School Baseball’s Diamond Pro (THSB/Diamond Pro) Top 25 Poll and the No. 8 team in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association (THSBCA) Top 10.
The Bulldogs have won 12 straight games since losing to Sharyland Pioneer on March 16. McHi evened the season series by defeating the Diamondbacks 6-3 earlier this month, while also taking down Sharyland High twice, both state-ranked teams.
Ethan Whatley’s 32 RBIs lead the team, while Caleb Killian (.407 batting average) and Noah Villlarreal (.474 batting average) have recorded 37 hits apiece. Catcher Chris Bernal (Texas State commit) is batting .406 with 16 RBIs and one home run on 26 hits.
MORE STATE-RANKED RGV TEAMS
The La Joya High Coyotes (17-1, 16-0) remain in the top 10 in both the THSBCA and THSB/Diamond Pro rankings at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.
The 31-6A champion Coyotes cruised through their district competition with a perfect record behind one of the most dangerous pitching staffs in the state with JC Gutierrez (7-0), Angel Solis (7-0) and Hugo Cantu (3-1).
Three more Rio Grande Valley squads have home in the THSB/Diamond Pro Top 25 Class 5A Poll in No. 5 Sharyland Pioneer, No. 15 Sharyland High and No. 16 Rio Grande City.
The Diamondbacks (26-3, 12-2) fell two spots to No. 5 after falling to crosstown rival Sharyland High 11-3 last week.
With that result, the Sharyland Rattlers (24-4, 11-3) increased their ranking by three spots to No. 15.
Rounding out the RGV’s ranked teams are the Rio Grande City Rattlers (15-4, 10-0), the District 30-5A champions. The Rattlers split a pair of one-run non-district games against La Joya High over the weekend.
31-6A PICTURE CLEARS UP
The Edinburg High Bobcats captured the final playoff spot in District 31-6A by beating out PSJA North 7-6 in a play-in game Friday.
Jorge Salinas came through with a 2-for-4 day and three RBIs to lead the Bobcats, while Darren Barrera also went 2-for-4 at the plate. Jr. Soto received the win after 6.1 innings of work, giving up nine hits and one earned run while striking out six.
Edinburg High (10-7, 10-7) will face District 32-6A’s champion Harlingen High (20-6, 14-0) in Round 1 of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Edinburg Vela SaberCats (15-3, 13-3) won the rubber match against the PSJA High Bears (14-4, 13-3) to break the tie for District 31-6A’s No. 2 seed. Vela pitcher Carlos Peña pitched a complete game, scattering 10 hits, one walk and 10 strikeouts across seven innings.
The loss locks the Bears into the No. 3 seed in the district, setting up a marquee bi-district playoff matchup against the Los Fresnos Falcons (17-5-2, 11-3).