TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN — Anibal Leal pitched a complete game four-hitter and senior third baseman Arnold Peña singled, doubled and had a sacrifice fly RBI to lead La Joya High past McAllen Rowe 5-3 in a tough District 30-6A game Thursday night.
It was a good win for the Coyotes, who improved to 3-2 in 30-6A while dropping the Warriors to 3-3.
Leal, a 6-foot-3 senior sporting a perfect 6-0 record this year, did not dominate the Warriors, but he pitched well enough to allow just a few hits, strike out nine batters and walk just two. He was in excellent control of several pitches; meanwhile, La Joya’s defense was sharp, committing just one error and stranding six Rowe runners — three in scoring position.
Add some Rowe errors early in the game, four doubles from La Joya hitters and Warriors’ All-Valley pitcher Abanny Garcia’s exiting in the fourth inning because of soreness, and it became clear that La Joya would have the better night at Rowe’s home field.
“They had their ace. We had our ace. So we knew this would be a tough battle,” La Joya High first-year coach Alex Guajardo said. “Whoever took advantage of scoring opportunities, we knew would take advantage and win the game.”
La Joya did just that with designated hitter Isaac Garces’ double in the second inning that began a three-run period for the Coyotes. Jose Delgado followed with a walk, and after a Rowe error on a Luis Rincon grounder, two runs scored and La Joya led 2-0. Next, sophomore Ray Alaniz, who came into the game batting close to .350, singled in Rincon.
A three-run cushion allowed Leal to work the mound to his liking. He only faced 10 batters through the first three innings before running into a little trouble in the fourth and fifth, giving up one and two runs, respectively. Although Leal didn’t have many walks, the batters he gave free bases to ended up scoring in those innings. Still, the Coyotes defense did enough to back him up and preserve the victory.
Leal said he was proud of the defense, and he did his part by mixing up his pitches as best he could.
“I expected a pretty good game since we were facing a really good ballclub,” said Leal. “I just stayed focused and did what I needed to do. Throw good pitches. Throw strikes.”
La Joya added another run in the fourth when a sacrifice fly by Alaniz, the team’s leader in hits, drove in Delgado. It was Alaniz’s second RBI of the night. The Warriors added a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth when center fielder Jake Weaver scored on Luis Polanco’s double of the right field wall.
Polanco entered the game in relief of starting pitcher Garcia.
Rowe rallied again in the fifth with two more runs, closing the deficit to 4-3. But the Warriors could not get any closer, and La Joya was able to score an insurance run in the top of the seventh to provide the game’s final score. Peña drove that run in with a sac fly to cap his productive night.
Guajardo said the Coyotes do not have much time to celebrate since they play LJ Juarez-Lincoln Friday before their second round of district play begins next week. Rowe coach Angel Perez said his squad will put this loss behind it and prepare for its second round. The Warriors have a bye Friday and close the first round of district at .500.
“We hung around and we fought. That is why I am proud of our guys,” Perez said. “We stayed around until the end. We still have a lot of baseball to play yet. I think this district is going to come down to the wire.”