RGVSPORTS.COM
Three baseball and three softball players will be nominated for Baseball Player of the Year and Softball Player of the Year on June 14.
The winners will be recognized at the 2016 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet at DoubleTree Suites in McAllen. Representatives from the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame, The Monitor, the Brownsville Herald and the Valley Morning Star voted on three nominations for each category.
The winner will be revealed at the banquet.
The awards banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will recognize team and individual standouts in multiple sports over the past year. Tickets are $40. All nominees get in free.
To buy tickets to the banquet, log on to TheMonitor.com, BrownsvilleHerald.com, or ValleyStar.com and click on the rgvsports_banquet link on the toolbar on the home page of each website.
The nominees for Baseball Player of the Year:
>> JR Gaitan, San Benito: Gaitan is batting .483 with a .516 on-base percentage while going 3-0 with a 3.93 ERA on the mound.
>> Noel Vela, Mission Veterans Memorial: Vela is 4-1 with a 0.82 ERA and 67 strikeouts to 18 walks in 33 innings. The UTRGV commit is also hitting .570 with 38 RBIs and six home runs for the No. 5 ranked team in the state.
>> Freddy Villarreal, Brownsville Veterans Memorial: The University of Houston signee was 8-0 with 82 strikeouts through his first nine starts of this season. Villarreal has thrown one complete-game no-hitter and two five-inning no-hitters. Opponents are hitting .086 against him.
The nominees for Softball Player of the Year:
>> Dalilah Barrera, Mercedes: Barrera is practically unhittable as she led Mercedes to another district title. The senior has struck out 20 batters in a game this season and threw eight shutouts in District 32-5A play.
>> Cassie Valdez, Brownsville Veterans Memorial: Through the first nine district games of this season, Valdez struck out 88 batters in 46.2 innings and had three home runs and 20 RBIs. She is the anchor of one of the Valley’s top softball programs.
>> Kim Harper, San Benito: The senior is batting .486 in District 32-6A play with 14 RBIs and 17 runs scored for the Valley’s top team.
Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson will be the keynote speaker at June’s banquet.
Pearson, who was inducted into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor in 2011 after a standout career defined by his performances in the clutch, will highlight the function hosted by RGVSports.com in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame.
The awards banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will recognize team and individual standouts in multiple sports over the past year.
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IF YOU GO:
What: 2016 All-Valley Sports Banquet Awards
When: Tuesday, June 14
Where: DoubleTree Suites, McAllen
Info: $40 for tickets, which includes a catered dinner. Nominees for all awards get in free.