MISSION — La Joya Palmview had three hits and no runs across the first six innings of Game 3 of its Region IV-5A area round playoff series against Sharyland Pioneer on Monday at Mission Veterans High School.
Down to their last three outs and trailing by two, the Lobos leaned on their calling card, “B.T.F,”an acronym that stands for believe, trust and faith.
Palmview proceeded to plate three runs in the bottom of the seventh to win 3-2 in Game 3 and seal the area playoff series 2-1 against Sharyland Pioneer. The Lobos (27-8) return to the regional quarterfinal round of the postseason for the first time since 2019. The Diamondbacks’ season comes to an end at 28-8 overall.
La Joya Palmview will meet Edinburg Vela in the Region IV-5A quarterfinals later this week. Date and time are to be determined.
“Coming into the last inning before they went into the dugout, we brought them in and told them we’ve been here before. It has to be nothing but ‘B.T.F.,’ that means believe, trust, faith in each other and play your hearts til the end. Leave it all on the field,” Palmview head coach Rick Garcia said. “They came out swinging, came out hitting the ball and put ourselves in a great situation. We kept taking ourselves out of the game with base-running, but finally when we put it together in the end, it showed.”
In the bottom of the seventh, Palmview third baseman Gael Gonzalez hit a hard grounder to shortstop and the throw to first was in time but out of reach, allowing the lead runner on. Catcher Josiah Gonzalez followed with an RBI double to right center field to make it a 2-1 game.
Center fielder Tony Villarreal then attempted a sacrifice bunt and reached safely thanks to a Pioneer error, giving the Lobos runners on the corners with no outs. First baseman Chris Perez delivered a game-tying RBI single to left field to pull even at 2 and moved Villarreal to third. An intentional walk loaded the bases, setting up right fielder Anakin Robles to bring in the game-winning run after being hit by a pitch.
“We knew it was going to be hard, but we never gave up and kept fighting,” Josiah Gonzalez said.
“We just don’t give up. We never put our heads down, we always believe in our team, trust in our coaches and always have faith in God to push us through,” Perez said.
Palmview pitcher Herminio Gonzalez pitched a complete game with two earned runs off eight hits and two walks.
“We knew they were a talented team, but we’re a talented team too. We had major respect, but we fight, and that’s what we do — we fight,” Herminio Gonzalez said.
Pioneer jumped ahead 1-0 early after a double by Andy Chapa and an RBI single to right field from Dannel Marrero. The Diamondbacks added another run during the top of the sixth after a leadoff triple by Marrero and a chopper up the middle by Diego Chapa.
Pioneer pitcher Isaac Lopez gave up three runs, one earned, off five hits and two walks, striking out six. Marrero finished 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
“We had a great team. It’d be different if I felt like we lost to a team that wasn’t as good as us, but Palmview’s a heck of a ball club too,” Pioneer head coach Adrian Leal said. “They got out of jams today, we got out of jams today, the crowd was into it, it was a beautiful baseball game. It’s unfortunate and it’s a tough pill to swallow, but I’m going to stick up for my boys and I know they’re going to grow from it. It’s a learning experience for some of our guys, it’s unfortunate for our seniors, but we’ll get some of these guys back next year, use it as motivation and take it on the chin.”