Clair Cruz | Special to the Star
HARLINGEN — The lights were just minutes from turning off at the Cardinals baseball field, but Harlingen head coach Juan Rangel didn’t care.
His Cardinals had just earned a very important 8-7 walk-off victory over Los Fresnos. After eight innings of hard-fought baseball, the only thing on his mind was celebrating with his team.
“We’re fighting for our playoff spot, so we knew we needed this game more than they did,” Rangel said. “We had a lot of up and downs. It worked out in our favor and I’m glad.”
Cardinal’s right fielder Abraham Ibarra drove in the winning run with a perfectly executed squeeze. He went to the plate after the Falcons intentionally walked Boedy Flores and Nathan Ramon to load the bases with one out with simple instructions: get a hit on the first good pitch or lay down the bunt.
Ibarra took a huge hack at the first offering from Los Fresnos pitcher Victor Montemayor but didn’t connect. The Falcons anticipated what was coming and brought in an outfielder to form a five-man defense. Ibarra laid down a bunt just slightly to the first base line that Montemayor fielded, but not quickly enough.
Isaias Ibarra charged home and slid safely in before the throw to clinch the win.
“It was amazing the way we fought tonight,” Abraham Ibarra said. “I just jumped for joy, giving all glory to God. It was a crazy game.”
Harlingen jumped out to an early lead in the first on a two-run, no-doubt homerun off Flores’ bat. The Cardinals added two runs in the second and one in the third to take a 5-0 lead.
But as all good teams do, Los Fresnos responded. The Falcons put two on the board in the third, fourth and fifth innings to get on top, 6-5. Harlingen scored twice in the sixth and Los Fresnos answered to tie the game at 7 in the seventh.
The Cardinals headed to the eighth full of energy and determination, and it translated into a win.
“It’s all about fighting,” Rangel said. “When you fight back, good things happen. I’m glad that we were the team to come out on top today. It was just about how bad we wanted it.”