BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
SAN JUAN — The PSJA High Bears used to tease senior pitcher Marc Castillo, saying he had “warning-track power.”
That all changed in the bottom of the third inning on Tuesday. PSJA High trailed Edinburg North by a run after the Cougars plated two in the top of the inning. Castillo was up with two men on and two outs. He had struck out in his first plate appearance against North senior ace Giancarlo Servin. This time around, he took one pitch before blasting a towering shot over the fence in left-center field.
“It was the greatest feeling ever,” Castillo said. “I hadn’t seen (a ball go off my bat and over the fence) since I was younger. It made me feel really great.
“So, when I got back to the dugout, (my teammates) told me, ‘Hey, we can’t call you ‘warning-track power’ anymore.”
Castillo led the Bears to a huge 6-4 victory over the Cougars, moving PSJA High into a tie for first place with North. Both teams are 6-1 in highly competitive District 31-6A. This game was a bounce-back win for PSJA, which fell to Edinburg Vela by the same score of 6-4 on Friday.
“It’s a really big win,” PSJA coach Marco Guajardo said. “That is a hell of a team over there. I have a lot of respect for those guys. They have been killing everybody. But, our boys rose to the occasion. At first, after Friday’s loss, I told the boys, ‘We are still in the first half. We can turn things around.’ And they really came out to play today.”
Castillo added to his impressive offensive day by throwing 5 innings, allowing five hits and three runs, while striking out six and walking five.
“Marc did an awesome job,” Guajardo said. “Some guys were doubtful about him, but I said, ‘He’s our horse, and I’m going to give it to him. He’s a senior, he’s the captain. I’m going to give him the ball and let’s see what he does.’ He really wanted it and I said, ‘Hey, it’s yours.’ And he performed awesome.”
Edinburg North wasn’t going to quit, even after PSJA pushed the lead to 6-3. The Cougars continued to fight, their confidence bolstered by a tremendous relief appearance by junior Juan Almeida.
In the top of the seventh, senior catcher Saul Garza hit a leadoff double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Junior Jaime Silva came up with Garza at third and one out. The count went full, but the scoreboard showed 2-2. A fourth ball came across, but the umpire, who had an inconsistent strike zone throughout the game, got mixed up and called the batter back to the plate. In the end, the call helped Edinburg North, because the fifth ball of the at-bat was another wild pitch, which allowed Garza to score from third. Garza finished the game 3 for 4 with two runs scored, two doubles and two RBIs.
Sophomore Trey Guajardo was the man tasked with closing the game out. He came on in the sixth and allowed two hits, two walks and the aforementioned run, while striking out four.
“I felt ready,” Trey Guajardo said. “I was pretty excited. Coach told me he needed me to go the last two. So, I stood up to the challenge. I went in and did my job, and the defense helped me out.”
One of the things that helps Castillo and the other Bears pitchers is the calming presence of sophomore shortstop Ariben Gutierrez. He often will take a quick walk to the mound and give the pitcher words of encouragement.
“He’s always into their heads, calming them down,” Marco Guajardo said. “He knows when they are a little nervous, and he goes out there and helps them out. He’s like another coach out there on the field. As a sophomore, he has a knack for the game. He knows a lot of the little things that you just can’t coach. You can’t coach that, when to slow things down, when to not. It’s just a big plus for us having that kind of leadership as a sophomore.”
Several times Tuesday, just after Gutierrez conferred with Castillo, Castillo would hit another gear and get a big out.
“Every time he comes over to me, he tells me just keep calm, breathe, relax and focus on what my job is and throw strikes,” Castillo said. “It helps me a lot. It helps me regroup and bring my focus back. … For him being so young, to look up to me and say, ‘We believe in you, I believe in you, I’m behind you, I got your back. That is a big difference maker.”
Castillo saw this matchup as a major one in the Bears district title push.
“This is a game we were looking forward to the whole season,” Castillo said. “We would say, ‘Alright, this is another win, but let’s get ready for Edinburg North. That is going to be the toughest game we play this whole season.’
“I believed in our team and I knew we had the strength to come through. … Thank God we came out with the win.”