BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
PSJA High senior Marc Castillo only hit two home runs this year, but they came at huge moments in the season.
The first was April 4, when PSJA hosted Edinburg North. North was ahead by a run in the third inning when Castillo came up with two men on and two outs against North’s Ace, senior Giancarlo Servin. Castillo hit the ball to left-center and it cleared the fence by less than a foot, giving the Bears a lead they would retain for the win to move into a tie for first place in District 31-6A.
The second home run was May 5 in the bi-district round of the playoffs. PSJA and Weslaco High were tied at 3. Castillo came up with one man on and one out.
“I already knew what the pitcher was going to throw at me, because the first two at-bats there was a pattern that he was throwing,” Castillo said. “So I figured it out, and I waited until I got that one pitch. I sat back on one, and I hit. I ran to first base, and I looked over to left field and I saw the ball fly over the fence, and it got me really pumped up. I got super excited.”
For good measure, Castillo drove in two runs in the next inning to give the Bears a 7-3 lead that would end up being the final score.
Castillo will be the Bears’ only representative on Saturday at the RGV East-West All-Star Game, which is only open to seniors.
“It means a lot,” Castillo said. “It feels good that I got chosen out of a lot of players. I got chosen to come out and represent my school.”
Castillo was one of only seven seniors on the Bears roster this season, and he led the bunch with 31 games played.
“It was a little bit different,” Castillo said. “I was so used to being one of the younger guys, and now in my senior year, I said, ‘OK, now I am one of the oldest guys here. I have to take charge. I have to show the young guys the ropes and show them how we do it.’”
Castillo has always taken a lot of pride in representing the Bears. He owes his love of baseball to the school. His father played at PSJA, and his dad’s love for the game propelled Castillo into the sport.
“It was awesome,” Castillo said. “To have spent my career playing for the same school my dad did was just something that I look at and say I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”
Castillo said he learned the game from his father. He started playing when he was 3, and his dad was often his coach throughout his early years.
This year, the All-Star game has added a second baseball game to the festivities to help players from Class 4A and smaller schools get more playing time.
The 4A and lower all-star game begins at 4 p.m. Saturday at the La Joya ISD Sports Complex. The 5A and 6A game will follow 30 minutes after the first game is finished, and the softball all-star game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
A tradition at the yearly event is the presentation of an honoree. Each year, one person is recognized for their accomplishments around the Valley. This year’s honoree is Jose “Fito” Salinas, the Mayor of La Joya.
Salinas attended La Joya High School. When he graduated in 1957, he received a scholarship to play baseball for UTPA. After his college career with the Broncs, he was signed by the Houston Colt 45s (now the Astros).
Salinas was a big piece of the athletics history of Zapata High School. He was a part of opening the football program in 1965. He coached basketball for nine seasons, winning seven district titles. In 1967, Salinas won a state title in basketball, defeating Archer City in the final.
He spent 17 years working for San Antonio ISD before retiring in 1995. When he moved back to the Valley, he became a member of the La Joya school board and was part of the decision to split the district into three schools.
Salinas said one of his focuses since moving has been to work with the youth in the community to give them the opportunity to play sports and get involved at school.
“When I was in high school, we didn’t have anything except the athletics in the high schools,” Salinas said. “One of the main reasons we want to get them involved in activities is to keep them off the streets. To prevent them from going into drugs and the other things that would not be beneficial to the youth. I have kids of my own, and I really believe in our youth that we need to work with them at an early age.”
Salinas said hosting the all-star game is a big honor for La Joya.
“It is very exciting,” he said. “We have probably the best facilities in the county and maybe even in the whole Rio Grande Valley. The community in La Joya and the surrounding high schools: Juarez-Lincoln and Palmview, they play all their big games here. So it is very beneficial to all of our communities.”
5A/6A West baseball team
Edgar Garza, Mission High; Chezarre Gonzalez, Valley View; Miguel Cera, Sharyland; Nando Sepulveda, Rio Grande City; John Roberson, Roma; William Pena, Mission Veterans; Eddie Galvan, Mission Veterans; Cristian Ramos, Mission Veterans; Roman de Leon, Mission Veterans; Jacob Guerrero, Mission Veterans; Giancarlo Servin, Edinburg North; Saul Garza, Edinburg North; Jaime Cansino, Edinburg High; R.J. Ochoa, Edinburg Vela; Ryan Rodriguez, Edinburg Vela; Marc Castillo, PSJA High; Ismael Lopez, Edinburg Economedes; Gerardo de Leon, Edinburg Economedes; Ramiro Maldonado, McAllen High; Victor Valdez, McAllen High; Elias Ovalle, La Joya Palmview; Ismael Martinez, La Joya Palmview; Andrew Ogletree, Sharyland Pioneer; Alex Guajardo, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln; Alexis Solis, PSJA North; Jose Delgado, La Joya High
5A/6A East baseball team
Santos Rodriguez, Brownsville Pace; Hector Serna, Brownsville Lopez; Nate Campos, Weslaco High; Efrain Martinez, Brownsville Hanna; Jordan Janskowski, Brownsville Rivera; Abel Rodriguez, Los Fresnos; Cesar Saldana, Brownsville Hanna; Steve Perez, Edcouch-Elsa; Kenneth Rininger, Harlingen High; Julio Hernandez, Donna North; Joey Villalpando, Edcouch-Elsa; Chad Roberts, Harlingen South; Manny Ramirez, Donna North; Hector Covarrubias, Weslaco East; Tony Gonzales, San Benito; Adrian “AJ” Gonzalez, Weslaco High; Conner Pace, Brownsville St. Joseph; Oliver Closner, Mercedes; Andy Rodriguez, Edcouch-Elsa; Hayes Duffy, Harlingen High; Jeremy Ramirez, Donna High; Miguel Gonzalez, Los Fresnos; Alfonso Mireles, San Benito, AJ Rodriguez, Edcouch Elsa
4A and lower West baseball team
Edgar Garza, Grulla; Luis Martinez, Grulla; Jesse Solis, Grulla; Dylan Doughtery, Hidalgo; Jesus Lara, Hidalgo; Raul Ortiz, Hidalgo; Luis Rosales, Hidalgo; Austin De La Cruz, La Feria; Brandon Perez, La Feria; Juan Ayala, La Villa; Eduardo Davalos, Progreso; Reynaldo Garcia, Progreso; Javier Flores, Zapata; Carlos Gutierrez, Zapata; Kris Hinkel, Zapata; Mario Landa, Zapata; J. J. Vela, Zapata
4A and lower East baseball team
Trey Mock, Port Isabel; Mark Martinez, Port Isabel; Kaleb Martinez, Port Isabel; Juan Vasquez, Port Isabel; Andy Vasquez, Rio Hondo; Troy Zepeda, Rio Hondo; Justin Villarreal, Rio Hondo; Jesse Atkinson, Rio Hondo; Andre Ibarra, Lyford; Jaime Cortez, Lyford; Samuel Rocha, Lyford; Jarod Stroud, Lyford; Ricky Hernandez, Raymondville; Alex Villalpardo, Raymondville; Daniel Garza, San Perlita; Francisco Figueroa, Santa Rosa; Daniel Perez, Santa Rosa