By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
HARLINGEN —After a tough win over San Benito Thursday night left the Falcons’ pitching staff thin, the Harlingen South Hawks took advantage and came away with a 13-3 win in five innings Friday night at Harlingen Field.
Momentum shifted for good early when Keegan Danielson took the mound as the Falcons’ third pitcher of the night with two outs in the bottom of the second inning, tied at 3-3.
Upon entering, Danielson proceeded to walk in a run shortly after and then allowed an RBI single to Alec Garza which fell in shallow right field with the bases loaded.
After a bad throw home let three South runners cross and Garza to round second and head for third, Los Fresnos catcher Samuel Garcia overthrew third baseman Nicholas Montemayor.
Garza also scored and just like that South led 8-3, taking the wind out of the Falcons’ sails.
South (2-1 in district) closed the game with another five runs on three hits in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Two came on an error with the bases loaded.
It wasn’t Los Fresnos’ night, but South head coach Tony Leal will take the win.
“Los Fresnos did not throw their best pitchers after playing last night and that’s really what happened,” Leal said. “With the district how it is, Los Fresnos had to throw their best kids to beat San Benito. It’s a big victory for us tonight. Unfortunately Jake (Atkinson) was a little off for us today. We’ll see where we can go from here, because you’re going to have good games and some bad.”
The loss dropped Los Fresnos to 2-1 in the young District 32-6A season.
While the Falcons got the win Thursday, Los Fresnos coach Rene Morales will not use that as a crutch for Friday’s loss in which they used four pitchers.
“We played a tough game Thursday night, but I’m not going to make excuses,” Morales said. “South came out and hit the ball; they’re a well-coached team. We have to keep working with our young guys and be more consistent.”
Los Fresnos led 3-2 to start the bottom of the second, before South exploded for six runs.
The Hawks despite Atkinson being “off” on the night, he recorded five Ks and allowed just two hits for two earned runs.
Both runs came on a two RBI double by Los Fresnos’ George Villafranca in the top of the first inning, making it the high point of the Falcons’ night.
Villa Franca went 1 of 2 from the plate with 2 RBIs.
The Falcons, like the Hawks, had three errors on the night, but theirs proved costly.
For South lead-off man Nick Reasor went 3 of 4 at the plate, with 2 RBIs.
Both came in the bottom of the fourth to put South up 11-3.
Reasor and Daniel Rivera crossed the plate to give South the cushion they needed after Atkinson reached first base with the bases loaded on a bad throw to first.
The Hawks had a combined 10 hits on the night.