The Roma Gladiators are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, after clinching a postseason berth with a 3-0 win over Laredo Cigarroa on Tuesday.
Roma’s Randy Marroquin was lights out on the mound as he pitched a complete-game shutout against Cigarroa, while racking up 11 strikeouts.
Ricky Ruiz posted a 2-for-3 game with two RBIs, while Gabriel Garcia went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
The Gladiators (8-14, 5-4) are locked into the No. 3 seed in 30-5A, and will face the No. 2 seed from District 29-5A in the bi-district round of the Class 5A playoffs. Roma is set to close out the regular season against La Joya Palmview at 7 p.m. Friday at Palmview High School.
While the Gladiators are back in the playoffs, one team from District 32-5A also ended a postseason drought with a victory Tuesday.
The Brownsville Porter Cowboys (17-4-, 9-2) will be making their first playoff appearance since 2015 after earning a 10-0 victory on the road against Edcouch-Elsa.
Porter pitcher Cristo Sauceda delivered a complete game with 12 strikeouts, while allowing just three hits and one walk. At the plate, Diego Rivera went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Sauceda, Marcos Salinas and Alejandro Torres had two RBIs each.
Porter and Edcouch-Elsa are set to run it back at 7 p.m. Friday, this time at Brownsville Porter High School.
McHI CREATES TIE ATOP 31-5A
The McAllen High Bulldogs (20-4, 9-1) created a tie atop the District 31-5A standings by handing Sharyland Pioneer a 6-3 loss last Friday. The Bulldogs’ victory ended a 21-game winning streak by Pioneer, but more importantly they put themselves in position to chase the top spot in one of the toughest districts in the state.
After Pioneer won the first matchup 5-0 with David Lopez on the mound against McHi’s Tristan Cavazos, the Bulldogs turned the tables. Cavazos and the Bulldogs got the better of the Diamondbacks as he limited them to two earned runs on three hits and one walk while striking out seven.
Cavazos improved to 4-2 overall and increased his strikeout total to 51, while his earned run average dipped to 1.54, in 36.1 innings pitched.
Texas State signee Chris Bernal led the Bulldogs offensively with a three-run home run and a walk, while Cavazos and Damian Cortez drove in McHi’s two other runs.
Next for the Bulldogs is a crosstown rivalry game against McAllen Memorial scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial High School.
LATEST STATE RANKS
The latest Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association (THSBCA) Top 10 Poll and Texas High School Baseball Diamond Pro’s (THSB) Top 25 included several Rio Grande Valley teams ranked among the best the state has to offer.
In the most recent THSBCA Top 10 Poll, Sharyland Pioneer dropped from No. 2 in Class 5A to No. 6 after losing their first game in 21 chances. Meanwhile, the team that beat Pioneer, McAllen High, made its first appearance of the season in the receiving votes category. La Joya High (14-0, 14-0) held firm at No. 7 in the THSBCA Class 6A Top 10 Poll.
In the most recent THSB Top 25 Poll, Sharyland Pioneer (23-2, 9-1) is ranked No. 3 in 5A with McAllen High a few spots behind at No. 7. Meanwhile, Sharyland High (21-3, 8-2) and Rio Grande City (13-3, 9-0) are ranked No. 19 and 20, respectively.
At the Class 4A level, Hidalgo (13-2, 4-1) moved down from No. 16 to No. 20 after a 4-3 loss against La Feria last Friday.
La Joya High, the District 31-6A champion, is the lone team in the THSB Class 6A Top 25, coming in at No. 10.