By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
If Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s opponents have learned one thing about facing the Chargers this season, it’s that no lead is safe.
Lopez squandered an early three-run lead and Brownsville Veterans overcame a rocky start from Rafael Capistran Tuesday night, as the Chargers defeated the Lobos 8-5.
“He kept battling back in the counts,” Brownsville Veterans coach Albert Rodriguez said. “He was throwing good pitches when we needed him to.”
The Lobos (16-6, 8-5 32-5A) jumped in front 1-0 in the first when catcher Mague Mendoza hit a dribbler down the first base line and first baseman Ruben Gallegos couldn’t corral the throw from Capistran, scoring shortstop Jesus De Leon.
Capistran hit back-to-back batters, first baseman Andres Haz, which loaded the bases, and right fielder Meme Cruz to give Lopez a 2-0 lead.
Lopez starting pitcher Robert Guerra and De Leon strung together consecutive singles to right field to set up first and third for designated hitter Ivan Banuelos with two outs.
Banuelos punched a line-drive RBI single in the hole between third and short to score Guerra and add to the Lobos’ advantage in the second. The Lobos led 3-0 after two innings but did not score again until the fifth on an RBI single by Gonzalez, who was thrown out to end the inning when he tried to stretch his hit to a double.
Center fielder Rafael Parra led off the home half of the second with a single to left.
With right fielder Jesus Lozano at the plate and runners on second and third, Parra scored on a wild pitch. Guerra issued walks to Lozano and catcher Heriberto Maldonado to load the bases.
Capistran tied the game at three with two outs after his ground ball deflected off the glove of third baseman Albert Cervantes and trickled through the left side, scoring Maldonado and Lozano.
Gallegos ignited a Brownsville Veterans (21-5, 12-1 32-5A) rally when he reached on a dropped third strike. A single from Garcia sent Gallegos to third. Gallegos scored the go-ahead run and Garcia advanced to third on a pickoff throw that evaded Cervantes and went into foul territory.
Things began to unravel for the Lobos after they replaced Guerra with Banuelos on the mound with one out in the fourth.
A popup by Capistran went untouched and landed for an infield hit. Second baseman Christian Holloway slashed an RBI single and a throwing error on a ground ball by shortstop Justin Anaya plated two more runs in a four-run frame.
The Lobos experienced a bout of deja vu during the sixth inning when Holloway launched a solo home run to left, as Holloway did in the first meeting between the teams March 30 at Lopez.
“It felt good, I had the same contact off the bat,” Holloway said. “I knew it was gone when I hit.”
Hinojosa, the winning pitcher, combined for 3 2/3 innings of relief with Parra, who earned the save. Parra allowed a two-out walk to Perez, who came around to score without the Lobos putting a ball in play in the frame.
The loss hindered Lopez’s chances at the second District 32-5A playoff seed, as the Lobos and Valley View Tigers each entered Tuesday with 8-4 district record.
Holloway said the Chargers, who will enter the playoffs as a No. 1 seed, rallied behind Capistran and have increasingly focused on uplifting one another if one of their teammates has an off night.
“Just staying vigilant,” Holloway said. “We need to stay vigilant, we need to stay up and have confidence throughout the whole game, we can’t get down on ourselves and we didn’t tonight and we ended up picking up the win.”