DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Ruben Cavazos manned the lead-off spot in Mission Veterans Memorial’s lineup the last four years. His leadership, ability and experience were vital for a Patriots team that went 27-10 and finished as a Class 5A regional semifinalist last season.
These days, however, it’s junior Roman De Leon at the top of the batting order. Along with Cavazos, the Patriots lost some big-hitting seniors in Edward Peña, David de Los Santos and Leo Martinez, among others, and now coach Casey Smith has to find out who leads the way for a team with no seniors, but great expectations.
So far, Smith likes what he’s seeing. The Patriots had their way with McAllen Memorial 9-0 on Thursday afternoon on the first day of the McAllen/Mission Tournament at McAllen Memorial High. And, lo and behold, setting the table was De Leon, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, including a two-run inside-the-park home run.
“There’s no big difference (from last year),” De Leon said. “We all grew up playing together. We may have lost a lot of key guys, but we still have a good team and the important thing is we play well together.
“We have the same goals as we’ve always had. Nothing changes in that matter. We have the same expectations and we’re going to go from there.”
Mission Vets (3-0) scored nine runs over the final five innings. The Patriots had 15 hits, six for extra bases. They later beat La Villa 16-1 in three innings to close their first day of the tournament.
Offense figured to be where the Patriots would struggle most with the graduation of 10 seniors. But against McAllen Memorial, Jacob Guerrero went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, Anthony Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a RBI and stolen base, and usual suspects Noel Vela (2-for-4, RBI) and Matt de la Garza (1-for-3, RBI) performed to the norm.
“Leadership, experience and depth,” Smith said. “Those are the things we’re going to battle early on and it’s a process like anything else. You go through these tournaments and the whole deal is to find out what some guys can do and to get better. Just by getting out here, getting some at-bats, getting in situations, guys will do that.”
Smith was pleased with how well the Patriots put the ball in play. During Monday’s 2-1 win at Mission High, fly balls left runs on the bases.
Thursday, however, the Patriots kept the ball on the ground and hit it hard against McAllen Memorial sophomore Seth Soto, a transfer from El Paso.
The Patriots played with purpose and enthusiasm, like a bunch of players auditioning for a lead role. In a way, that’s the case.
“Those seniors left their mark,” de la Garza said. “We paid attention to them, saw how they led. Everybody wants to be a captain, and we have a lot of guys eager to fill those spots.”
McAllen Memorial won just two of six non-district games last season before finishing a respectable 6-6 in a tough District 30-6A. The Mustangs return most of that team, including standout sophomore center fielder Garrett St. Clair.
The Mustangs (0-2) mustered just seven scattered hits and struck out nine times in a complete-game shutout for Patriots junior Cristian Ramos. Memorial is still a work in progress, but has capable anchors in St. Clair (2-for-3) and Soto.
“I feel like we’ve got a lot of experience with guys returning from the year we had last year,” St. Clair said. “We have a new pitcher in Soto who can be a key part for our team. We’re mostly juniors and sophomores, but last year showed what we’re capable of and it’s a lot of motivation.”