BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN — The McAllen High Bulldogs used a seven-run fifth inning to thwart a comeback and blow by the McAllen Memorial Mustangs in a 12-8 District 30-6A victory Friday night.
Roy Quintanilla hammered a three-run home run in the first, Josh Zapata went 3 for 4 and Bobby Maldonado scored three times to highlight McHi’s offensive efforts. The win keeps the Bulldogs undefeated in district at 2-0 (14-2 overall), while Memorial remains winless in district with the loss, falling to 0-3 (9-4 overall).
Left-handed pitcher Ray Maldonado pitched five innings to pick up the victory, and heralded freshman Aaron Nixon notched the save, allowing one run and getting three strikeouts in the three-hour long game.
McHi coach Eliseo Pompa said he’ll take the victory, but it wasn’t the Bulldogs’ best performance.
“We instill in our players not to lose their poise and to keep their heads in the game,” Pompa said. “It’s not over until it’s over, and we kept our poise, and that’s exactly what happened tonight.”
After the Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind Quintanilla’s homer, the Mustangs scored two runs in the second, then exploded for five runs in the third to take a 7-4 lead into the fourth inning.
McHi, however, bounced right back and scored seven of its own in the top fifth. The Bulldogs scored with small ball, hitting five singles and batting around the order. Memorial added one more run, but the damage had been done.
Five Bulldogs had a multi-hit game and seven of their nine batters scored runs. Everyone contributing is what the team strives for, senior second-baseman Keola Zamora said.
“It’s a balanced attack,” Zamora said. “Whoever steps up to the plate can hit, and we have confidence in them.”
Memorial catcher Nick Tovar had an outstanding performance behind and in front of the plate for the Mustangs. The junior went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI.