BY NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — La Joya High and McAllen Rowe both sent freshmen pitchers to the mound Tuesday night to try to take an edge in an important District 30-6A game at La Joya High School.
Rowe right-handed hurler Jorge Melendez settled down first, but La Joya lefty JC Gutierrez had more staying power as he completed five innings, struck out six and earned the victory.
The Coyotes came from behind and outlasted the Warriors 4-3 to improve to 12-9 overall and 4-2 in district play, while Rowe drops to 11-9 and 2-4 in 30-6A games.
Gutierrez stayed composed even as the Warriors put up three runs during the first two innings — two coming off the bat of Jonas Ortiz with a two-run single in the first inning before the Coyotes recorded an out.
“We started a little flat. I’m glad our pitcher settled in. I know he’s young; he’s a freshman. Both of them, actually,” La Joya coach Mario Flores said of the two pitchers he used. “I’m just glad they picked each other up when we really needed them.”
Gutierrez labored early, but his 87 pitches look a lot better when considering it took almost 25 just to get out of the first inning.
After La Joya grabbed the lead, another freshman, Hugo Cantu, came in to turn the lights out on the Warriors and earn the save.
“Both of us have been pitching very well,” Cantu said. “I didn’t feel pressure — and I’m sure neither did he — that most of the other first-year varsity players will feel. It felt good to get the win and come up for my team.”
The Coyotes’ defense started making life easier for the pitchers quickly after making the first mistake.
After an error fueled one of Rowe’s first two runs, Ortiz was caught stealing between first and second.
“The first run was on an error, but after that we didn’t make any errors on defense and they were limited in runs,” Cantu, a first baseman and pitcher, said. “That’s the thing about defense: you have to be perfect. The team with the least errors is going to win.”
Cantu scored during the bottom of the first on La Joya third baseman Salvador Lopez’s laser shot that got past his counterpart at third base, Chris Reyna.
Melendez pitched a decent outing but couldn’t overcome some of the mistakes behind him.
La Joya, on the other hand, made more standout plays than blunders. During the second inning, when Rowe scored its second run, the defense struck again. Warriors center fielder Isaac Gallegos smashed a ball to center to score a run.
The single was hit hard enough that La Joya outfielder Elias Morales was able to hit the crow hop and eliminate the would-be fourth Rowe run.
“We wanted to win this game so we could go up to second place,” Morales. “The team’s defense has been really good. We’ve been practicing a lot. It’s important to think quick so that you can know ahead of time what’s going on.”
Three innings after throwing out at the runner at the plate, Morales hit an RBI single to score Cantu for a second time.
Ortiz came in to pitch in relief for Rowe and helped get out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation, but not before the Coyotes evened the game on a fielder’s choice by Angel Solis.
The winning run came during the fifth inning, when Alan Delgado reached base with a walk from Melendez. The second basemen tried to steal second base but an errant throw from the catcher, Lorenzo Lopez, allowed him to bolt to third. A bad throw from center allowed Delgado to cross the plate and break the tie for the game’s final run.
Cantu moved from first to the mound for the last two innings and Rowe’s final hopes. He allowed no hits and struck out two. Four of his six appearances have been starts, but he relishes the relief role.
“I’ve been dealing with pressure for a long time, so I didn’t really feel it this time,” Cantu said. “Starting, yeah, you feel less pressure because it’s 0-0 once you start. Relieving is just the same. The distance doesn’t change or anything. It’s just you and the catcher.”