By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Hanna was playing well with just one loss in District 32-6A a couple weeks ago.
The Golden Eagles (5-3 in district) have hit a recent slide that dropped them to a tie with San Benito for third in the standings after a loss to the Greyhounds on Tuesday.
Hanna has lost two straight games and while being outscored 20-6. Now they are looking to turn it around.
“Hopefully we can catch fire again,” Hanna coach Eddie Garcia said. “We need to be a little more focused, have more enthusiasm in practices. We have to pick it up a notch. It’s a critical time, it’s the second half.”
The Eagles took leads in both of their last two games, only to be shut out the rest of the way. Garcia felt his team has played flat lately and hopes that they can play with more persistence.
“You can’t save any energy, this is where you have to empty out the tank,” he said. “You have to exert all your energy. That spark was missing (Tuesday) and I haven’t seen that.”
But the Hanna coach was quick to point out that he felt his team would bounce back.
“It’s got to come from them, from the heart,” Garcia said. “But I think they will,”
THE RACE IS ON
The District 32-6A race is heating up.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial (8-0) swept through the first half of district action and started off the second half with a win over Harlingen South (2-6).
Los Fresnos (7-1) is right on the Chargers’ tail, its only loss a 3-2 setback coming from Brownsville Veterans. The Chargers trailed 2-1 in the last inning of the two teams’ meeting only to score two runs and walk off with a victory. If both clubs continue their first half dominance, the district title could come down to their matchup on April 22 in Los Fresnos.
Hanna and San Benito, meanwhile, will be looking to makeup ground in the standings. Both teams get a shot at Brownsville Veterans next week and will play Los Fresnos in the coming weeks.
Harlingen South, Harlingen High (2-6), Rivera (2-6) and Lopez (1-7) each have plenty of work to do to make a push for a postseason spot. It comes down to run support, and each team hasn’t been able to back their pitchers during the first half. To make a move, it’s going to take plenty of offense and better pitching.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
Port Isabel has been hitting the ball pretty well lately.
The Tarpons have stayed at the top of the standings because of the runs they’ve put on the board.
Port Isabel has scored 75 runs and allowed 19 runs during the first half of District 32-4A this season. That is an average of nearly 11 runs this season in District 32-4A offensively and allowed just fewer than three from its pitching staff in district games.
The Tarpons (6-1 in district) are tied atop the standings with Hidalgo (6-1), who handed Port Isabel its only loss off the reason. The two teams square off again in a couple weeks with playoff implications — and a possible district title — on the line.
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.