By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
Heading into Friday night’s game, Los Fresnos trailed Rivera and Harlingen High in the District 32-6A standings.
Led by starting pitcher Victor Loa, the Falcons played like a team with a sense of urgency to insert itself as a contender in the playoff picture, earning a 7-0 victory over Rivera that served as a reminder that the defending district champions won’t go down easily.
The sophomore left-hander struck out 12 Raiders in six shutout innings, allowing five hits and three walks in the victory.
“When that guy’s on the mound, he seems to carry the level of these guys up a little higher,” Falcons coach Rene Morales said. “They just jump on his back. These kids are responding every time we come out and play.”
Third baseman Isaac Franco’s two-run double during the third inning ignited a two-out rally that put the Falcons up 3-0. Jacob Sandoval scored during the fourth inning and Carlos Perez scored one run in the seventh, which bookended Loa’s two-RBI triple into the right-center gap in the sixth.
Loa’s hit knocked Raiders starter Rey Rivera out of the game with one out in the fifth. He was replaced by Jerry Perez after 4 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on four hits, four walks and two strikeouts.
“I was just trying to push my team through the game,” Loa said. “They clutched up some hits for me to score some runs so I could have an advantage. My first at-bats weren’t good but I focused on my third at-bat, and driving in those two runs changed the game.”
Germain Castillo closed out the game in the seventh, but not before the Raiders added some drama by loading the bases with two outs.
Castillo induced a ground ball to Franco, who stepped on third base to obtain the forceout and preserve the shutout.
“The kids have been playing hardball,” Morales said. “We’ve doing the little things (right) here and there. We’ve been putting runners on base and we had a couple of clutch hits, so it’s been good.”