LA JOYA — The best high school hard-ballers from across the Valley clashed in the 36th annual Rio Grande Valley East and West Baseball Showcase on Saturday at La Joya Baseball Complex for the Sub 5A and 5A-6A All-Star Games.
After nine innings, the East and West 5A-6A All-Stars finished tied at 4-4.
PSJA North’s Damian Rodriguez earned the West’s Most Valuable Player honors, while Brownsville Veterans’ Justin Anaya was named the East’s MVP. Anaya had two RBIs and Rodriguez went 2 for 2 with a run as his West squad battled back to even the score.
“That’s the game. You can never give up. You just have to give your all until the last out,” Rodriguez said. “One of the things I’m going to remember is just playing with friends — not just the West side, but the East side, too — just enjoying the game with them one last time. This experience was a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I’m just grateful to be a part of it.”
PSJA High’s Trey Guajardo and Mission Veterans’ Alex Guajardo also drove in one run each for the West All-Stars.
In the BCARGV Sub 5A All-Star Game, the West walked away with a 9-0 win over the East All-Stars, in large part due to the play of Grulla’s Dillen Salinas.
Salinas was named the game’s Most Valuable Player as he started on the bump for the West All-Stars and held the East team scoreless during his time on the mound. He also drove in three runs with a triple during the bottom of the second inning to give his squad an early advantage.
Salinas admitted he originally wasn’t going to participate in the game, but with his coach encouraging him to give it one last go, the Grulla Gators star went out and earned the MVP award.
“First of all, I wasn’t going to come to play, but my coach encouraged me to come out and try my best. It’s my last game so I had to go all out,” he said. “Coach put me there (to pitch) and I was a little bit nervous, but God is great and I was able to do good.”
Zapata’s Rene Garcia had three RBIs as he stepped into a bases-loaded situation and blasted one down the left field line in the bottom of the fifth.