By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
What a difference one day makes.
After struggling on offense Friday in a 9-2 loss, Brownsville Veterans Memorial showed some power, hitting five home runs during a span of two games, including a home run by David Anaya the finished off PSJA North 11-1 in six innings in Game 3 and won the best-of-three bi-district series Saturday at Brownsville Veterans.
Anaya had two home runs on the day, one during the Chargers’ 7-1 victory in Game 2 and the game-winner in Game 3. He finished with three hits, scored four runs and had three RBIs on the day.
“I think the kids realized what was at stake. If we lost one game we were out,” Brownsville Veterans coach Joey Benavides said.
“The kids wanted to play next week, and they came out and swung the bats well. David (Anaya) hit the ball well, the pitching was good, the defense was great.”
Brownsville Veterans got on the board during the first inning. Javier Pena singled and scored on a single by Jorge Montelongo for a 1-0 lead. One inning later, Pena hit a two-run home run to left to give Brownsville Veterans a 3-0 lead.
During the third, the Chargers added another run on a single by Santiago Moody to take a 4-0 advantage and knock out Raiders starter Gustavo Garcia. He pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowed four runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out one.
The Chargers posted six runs during a big fourth inning. Oscar Ponce hit a solo home run, Fred Villarreal had a RBI double, Moody had a bases-clearing triple and Baltazar Guzman had a RBI triple as Brownsville Veterans took a 10-0 lead.
“The pitching was the difference,” PSJA North coach Rene Soza said. “(Friday) night (Matt) Garza came in and took charge of the mound, and (Saturday) our lefty (Gustavo Garcia) came in a little sluggish. After that it was just young guys without much experience. (Brownsville Veterans) hit the ball, and they came here to play ball. We didn’t come through with the bats.”
The Raiders got a run back during the fifth inning. Enrique Alaniz led off with a double and scored on a single by Austin Orasi.
During the bottom of the sixth inning, Anaya drove a pitch deep to left field to clinch the game and the series for the Chargers.
Benavides said his squad looked focused Saturday.
“The kids got here earlier than usual,” he said. “Today was a different day. They looked focused, they weren’t joking around and we went out and played routine baseball.”
Noe Solis pitched six innings, allowed one run on just three hits, walked none and struck out six for Brownsville Veterans.
Soza said the lack of runners on base didn’t help the Raiders’ offense.
“If you don’t get runners on base, it’s like playing cards. If you don’t have the cards on the table, it’s not going to help us out,” he said. “They came through, that’s why they’re district champs. They showed their character and bounced back. I hope they represent the Valley well.”
Brownsville Veterans will face Laredo United in the area round. The Chargers’ coach thinks his team is similar to the Longhorns.
“We’re going to match up well, it’s going to be a battle,” Benavides said. “They hit the ball well, have good pitching, but we do, too. I think it’s going to be a fair matchup, and the team that makes the most errors is the one that’s going to lose. If we play routine baseball, make the plays and the pitchers pitch the way they’re supposed to, it should be pretty close.”
In Game 2, Fred Villarreal pitched a complete game. He allowed one run on four hits, walked three and struck out 11.
Villarreal had plenty of offense behind him as Montelongo and Anaya each hit home runs. Montelongo hit a two-run homer during the Chargers’ five-run fourth inning that led to a 6-0 advantage, and Anaya hit a solo shot in the fifth.
The Chargers’ offensive attack had five hits but made them count, and it drew 11 walks against the Raiders’ pitchers.
Moody had a RBI double and Ponce added an RBI single for the Chargers in the Game 2 victory.
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.