By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Los Fresnos’ Victor Montemayor worked through some early nerves to throw a gem against Hanna.
The Falcons lefty went the distance and got the only run he needed early on in the 1-0 shutout of the Golden Eagles in a District 32-6A game Thursday at Hanna.
“In the first inning I was really nervous,” Montemayor said. “That (run) made me more confident and I started throwing the way I usually throw. My teammates helped me out a lot on defense and they kept me calm.”
Montemayor’s complete game shutout yielded just two hits, walked one, struck out two and a had a hits batsman to best right-hander Noe Guerrero, who allowed just one run on four hits, walked one, struck out six and a hits batsman for Hanna.
“Both pitchers were on and both did a hell of a job,” Los Fresnos coach Rene Morales said. “It gave him a little bit more confidence.
“(Montemayor) held them to zero runs, that’s all we can ask for.”
Los Fresnos moves to 9-2 in District 32-6A and ahead of Hanna (8-3) in the standings. The teams split the district season series, each winning on the road. The Falcons and Eagles started the evening tied at the top of district with Harlingen High.
Both Montemayor and Guerrero worked quickly through the opponents batting order. Montemayor sent Hanna down in order during 4 of 7 innings and Guerrero did the same to Los Fresnos in 5 of 7.
Los Fresnos got its run in the second inning. After Joseph Munoz led off the inning with a single to center, Hugo Sanchez moved him to second base on a sacrifice bunt. JJ Sanchez followed with an RBI-single to right as Munoz crossed the plate to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
“We had an opportunity in that second inning and we capitalized,” Morales said. “I didn’t think that was going to hold up. I know they can swing the bat well, but it held up.”
It would be the only run for Los Fresnos, but it was enough as Montemayor took that edge and used it to go through the Hanna lineup and win a crucial District 32-6A game.
“(Montemayor) kept us off-balanced,” Hanna coach Eddie Garcia said. “We don’t see too many lefty’s often. He’s smart, kept everything away. He threw curve balls for strikes … we couldn’t adjust. My hats off to Montemayor, he beat us, he did a good job.
“I feel bad for Noe. He pitched his heart out — well enough to win — but we couldn’t help him out.”
Hanna only really threatened once. With two outs in the third inning, it had back-to-back singles by Ivan Castillo and Jonathan Castro — its only hits of the game — but Montemayor got the next batter to groundout and end the inning. The Eagles went quietly the rest of the evening, only reaching on an error in the fourth inning and a hits batsman in the final inning.
That lack of an offensive spark has plagued Hanna at times this season.
“We were on the wrong end,” Garcia said. “But someone’s got to lose, someone’s got to win. The timely hitting avoided us, it’s been our nemesis all year, but it could have gone either way.
“We got beat by a good team. It just didn’t happen and that’s the way it is sometimes, but we’re going to keep working.”
Los Fresnos was happy for the win, but Morales quickly noted it doesn’t mean much with three games to play.
“It feels great (to win), but we’re taking it one game at a time,” he said. “We’ll be back to work on Monday to get ready for Harlingen (High) on Tuesday. Everybody still has to play each other. Anything can still happen, it’s still one game at a time approach in the second half for us.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.