HARLINGEN — Harlingen South’s offense woke up during the bottom of the fourth inning against Brownsville Lopez.
The Hawks batted around the lineup to take a 10-5 lead after entering the bottom half of the fourth down 5-2. Harlingen South went on to win 15-5 after five innings to stay unbeaten in District 32-5A.
“I challenged the guys going into that inning,” Harlingen South head coach Bryan Aughney said. “I thought David (Castillo) made some good pitches. We brought him out with bases loaded, gives up a Texas leaguer, and gets out of the inning only giving up two runs — that was a tough situation. We challenged the hitters to come back, we have been scoring runs throughout the year, and we just had to get back to doing what we do.”
Sophomore Josh Ruiz shut down the Lobos after coming into relieve Castillo, the winning pitcher. A.J. Serna drove in two in the top of the fifth as the Hawks secured the 10-run rule.
“Any district win we are going to be pleased with,” Aughney said. “Took us a little while to get things going. We struggled early to throw strikes on the mound. I think the five runs we gave up, they all got on due to a walk or hit by pitch. It comes back to what we preach to these guys, strikes win. I think we took advantage of some free passes and got some big hits.”
The Lobos extended their lead in the fourth. Ruben Ramirez and Ivan Cantu knocked in two runs as the skies began to clear after a constant rain and mist pelted the ball players on the diamond.
Harlingen South scored its first two runs in the first, with sophomore Daniel Lopez driving them in with a single.
Brownsville Lopez jumped on Harlingen South in the first. The Lobos played great in the rain. Mando San Miguel, Hector Arellano and Jaime Quintero each drove in a run to give Lopez an early advantage at South.
The Hawks are now 5-0 in District 32-5A. The Lobos fall to 2-3 in district play. Harlingen South and Brownsville Lopez will meet for the second game at 7 p.m. Thursday at Brownsville Lopez High School.