By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers defeated the Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles 7-2 in a BISD tournament meeting Friday at Brownsville Porter.
“We played well, they have been playing well,” Brownsville Veterans coach Adam Vera said.
Left-handed Chargers pitcher Raul Gallegos threw a six-strikeout complete game.
“My girlfriend’s dad went through surgery today in Houston, so I dedicated the game for them,” Gallegos said. “I am glad that I can make them proud.”
The Brownsville Veterans’ bats provided Gallegos with early run support.
“We are starting to hit the ball,” Vera said. “These last two weeks, we started hitting the ball more and coming into our own. The key is that we have been swinging at strikes and not chasing stuff. It has helped us put runs on the board.”
After a two-run first inning, Marlon Rodriguez drove in two more with a single. Rodriguez scored courtesy of an Eloy Garcia standup double.
“The team is doing great; this is the best we have been in a while,” Gallegos said. “Our defense played great behind me today. A couple of bad hops got them, but that was not on them.”
A two-run home run by Jason Villareal during the top of the third inning provided the extra cushion for the Chargers.
“I was not trying to do too much,” Villareal said. “I had hurt my hip flexor the prior inning, so that helped me simplify things and I let the bat do the work for me.”
Hanna tacked on a couple of runs during the fifth and sixth innings.