DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — Even after the Game 1 loss that made every remaining contest of its Class 5A regional quarterfinal series against Roma an elimination affair, Mission Veterans Memorial never changed its approach.
There were minor tweaks made here and there. But the Patriots never panicked and they stuck with the game plan that had produced a district title and two playoff series’ wins.
It got the job done. After a demonstrative win in Game 2 that evened the series on Friday, Mission Vets left no doubt in Game 3, pummeling Roma 15-5 in six innings Saturday at the La Joya ISD Complex to earn the program’s first trip to next week’s regional semifinals.
“Our mentality is to keep the ball on the ground,” said senior David de los Santos, who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. “Eventually we knew it’d find the holes, and obviously it did.”
In Game 1, those ground balls found Roma mitts. In Games 2 and 3, however, they found gaps.
“There was not a difference between Game 1 and Game 2 and Game 3,” Mission Vets coach Casey Smith said. “I thought we played consistent the entire time.”
The Patriots (26-8) pounded out 17 hits on Saturday, striking out just three times in 38 at-bats. This came less than 24 hours after they notched 14 runs on 12 hits in Game 2.
The adjustment Mission Vets hitters made after Game 1’s 2-0 loss was being more aggressive on any fastball in the zone earlier in the count. The philosophy — keep the ball on the ground — remained the same.
“The bats, we didn’t really have those going all year,” senior Edward Peña said. “Only now are we beginning to turn it up.
“We’ve been relying a lot on pitching and defense, and to open it up like we have the last few games is really big.”
After averaging 5.7 runs during the regular season, the Patriots are averaging 8.3 in the playoffs.
Mission Vets went up 4-0 during the second inning, saw Roma (13-15) cut the deficit in half, and then went up 8-2 by the fourth. The Patriots scored at least three runs in four innings.
The Gladiators’ offense was solid, accumulating eight hits with four walks, but the pitching never found answers for Patriots hitting.
That made it an easy day for Mission Vets sophomore Cristian Ramos, who struck out five in six innings. Ramos did not have his best stuff in improving to 8-0, but he had more than enough.
“You get really relaxed when you’re pitching,” Ramos said. “You know if you do get hit, you have a lineup of guys who can get the big hit anytime.
“Look at today. Even when they did score, we came right back at them.”
For the second straight postseason series, Mission Vets rallied from a 1-0 deficit to take two straight games and move on.
“It’s characteristic of a championship ballclub,” Smith said. “It’s about having kids that understand things aren’t always going to go your way. But you’ve got to keep plugging and keep doing things the right way, and most of the time things are going to work out in your benefit.”
Roma could have gone back to sophomore ace Jon Michael Roberson to throw Game 3, but coach Roque Cortinas chose not to.
Roberson threw only 85 pitches in seven innings during a complete game shutout win in Game 1 on Thursday, but Cortinas said the thought of not even pitching Roberson in Game 3 crossed his mind Saturday.
Roberson entered the game with one out in the third with the Gladiators trailing 7-2. He was the third Roma pitcher of the afternoon.
Roberson had the only three strikeouts for Roma pitching and threw the final 3 2/3 innings.
“My job as a coach is to win, of course, but also to think about what’s best for our kids,” Cortinas said. “He’s a sophomore. He’s our horse. What’s more important, winning a game and possibly overusing him or taking care of him? He’s got a bright future, and being an ex-pitcher myself I know how big rest is.”
Cortinas said he usually gives his pitchers 5-7 days off between starts. Asking a sophomore to come back on one day of rest, he said, was asking for a lot.
“I just couldn’t do it,” Cortinas said. “I don’t think it’s worth it. People may think I’m wrong, but that’s what I’m going to go by.
“We still ended up throwing him more than we wanted to. When he’s out there, though, this team just plays different. They always think they have a chance with him out there. It just didn’t work out this time.”
The District 31-5A rivals were in the regional quarterfinals for the first time in each program’s history. Mission Vets will play Georgetown next week, while Roma, boasting a lineup that included four sophomores and one freshman, closed an impressive season that saw it go beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Cortinas’ 11 years at the helm.
“Even before we got to today, I told this team they’ve done things nobody expected,” Cortinas said. “We exceeded expectations. People didn’t give us a chance, and it shows what kind of heart we have.
“It’s a young team and we’re going to make some noise the next couple of years.”