BY ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s pitching and defense have been its backbone this season. The Chargers’ hitting, on the other hand, has been a struggle at times, and they’re looking for consistency.
In a bi-district sweep of PSJA North, Brownsville Veterans won Game 1, 1-0, and Game 2 by the score of 11-7, two wins coming from opposite sides of the stratosphere. The Chargers know they need to find the right balance to keep their postseason rolling as they begin a best-of-three area round series against Laredo United today at 7:30 p.m. in Roma.
Game 2 is at 2 p.m. Saturday with Game 3, if necessary, following the completion of Game 2.
“The guys have a little bit of confidence,” Brownsville Veterans coach Eric Gonzalez said of his team’s 11-run output. “I would have to see another game (like that to be convinced). It was really hard to go to a one-game playoff when I don’t know if we’re really on and rolling. We have Fred (Villarreal) on our side, but I didn’t want to put that pressure on us when we haven’t been hitting.
“If the team from last Saturday shows up, it will be pretty fun.”
The only problem for the Chargers is that double-digit scoring efforts haven’t been their forte. Before their Game 2 blowout of PSJA North, Brownsville Veterans last scored 10 or more runs on April 5.
The offense hasn’t exactly gone cold, however, as the team is hitting .321 while averaging nearly six runs per game.
But Chargers pitchers have certainly done their part, as seniors Villarreal (11-0, 0.22 ERA) and Noe Solis (4-3, 2.31) have led a pitching staff that owns a sparkling ERA of 2.02.
Oh, and the defense behind them has a strong fielding percentage of .944.
The Chargers had a good balance between pitching and hitting early in the season, but their offense has come in waves during the latter part of the season, and they’ve relied more heavily on pitching.
Still, Saturday’s impressive showing provided some relief for a Chargers lineup hoping to rediscover its way.
“We’re taking it pitch by pitch, rather than inning by inning,” said shortstop David Anaya, who is hitting .357 this season. “It felt awesome. At the beginning of the year we were doing that, so we thought we were going to have a breakout season, and then things got rough at the end. But putting up 11 runs, it showed us we can really do it again and keep doing it … hopefully (we can) do that against Laredo.”
Heading into this weekend’s series, Brownsville Veterans coaches added extra batting practice and hitting drills to help the Chargers break out of their slump. First baseman Jorge Montelongo, who leads the team with three home runs and is second with 13 runs batted in, said a lot of the team’s struggles are mental.
“We had some bumps during the season, but we broke through it and we came together as a team. It felt amazing having some zip on the bat,” he said. “It was a lot of the mental game. We had to get through it, work through it and don’t let it get to your head.”
For the Chargers’ offense, they hope to continue what they (re)started against PSJA North.
“We have to be aggressive, swing at good pitches. Try to get the ball in the gaps, thinking (about hitting it) up the middle,” Solis said. “We have to go in there with the right mindset.”
Aside from the hitters, Brownsville Veterans’ pitching was certainly happy to see the bats get going. Any pressure taken off the pitching staff is a good thing. However, the pitchers aren’t backing down from a challenge.
“I just need to do the same things … relying on my defense because that’s our big strength right now,” Solis said. “As long as we string a couple hits together and I hit my spots, I think I should be good.”
Villarreal, who is expected to start in Game 1, said he has to continue what he’s been doing all season.
“I need to hit my spots and locate (my pitches), (Laredo United is) a great offensive team,” he said. “All I need is a few runs and I’m set.”
Regardless of which part of their game steps up for the Chargers this weekend, Gonzalez said his team, and especially his seniors, can handle any adversity.
“Our pitching and our defense has been key for us in the past couple of games, but it’s more our mental toughness,” he reiterated. “I’m excited that I have some guys that are mentally tough; they’re strong. They’re seniors that have stepped up when the game is on the line.”
That sense of urgency is already being felt among the red and blue because Laredo United swept Brownsville Veterans from the area round last spring.
“Our team is prepared for the rematch,” Villarreal said. “It’s been so long since last year. It was a hurtful loss.”
If the Chargers find that balance between pitching and hitting, they’ll be tough to beat. They have the pitching, defense and hitting, along with motivation and confidence to boot. Now they’re banking that it will come together all at once against the Longhorns.
“I’m hoping if we can come out and pitch the way we can, play defense and hit the way that everyone knows we can,” Gonzalez said. “Good things are going to happen.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.