DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — After his team’s second District 30-6A game of the season, a 2-1 defeat at La Joya High, McAllen High coach Eliseo Pompa gathered his team and delivered instructions.
Start swinging at strikes. Start being patient at the plate. Start having a plan.
“Our at-bat starts on deck, not at the plate,” senior Jose Moreno said. “That’s what it took. That’s what he told us.”
Since then, the Bulldogs have been one of the hottest teams in the Rio Grande Valley, averaging 10 runs per game in winning eight of their last nine contests. With one game left in the regular season, McAllen High (16-6, 9-2 30-6A) is in the driver’s seat for the district title, 1 ½ games ahead of La Joya High.
Pitching and defense were the backbone of the Bulldogs coming into this season. But it’s an emerging offense that has offered a much-welcomed dynamic.
“It feels great. There’s no pressure on you on the mound,” senior ace Rigo Sanchez said. “You take that first game against Mission, we won 1-0 and it was stressful. Then we lose 2-1 against La Joya. You felt you had to get every guy out because one run can tie it here or win it there.
“But now we’re scoring runs, getting on base. The offense is doing its job.”
It wasn’t always like that. In their district opener against Mission High, the Bulldogs barely squeaked out a win.
“We scored just one run and we were swinging at balls,” Moreno said. “We were all over the place.”
If that wasn’t a wake-up call, the next game against the Coyotes was. Losing a district game so early into the campaign jeopardizes district title hopes, and a 30-6A championship was McHi’s goal from day one.
So Pompa talked to his players. He had them re-focus on hitting.
“Every inning, we left men on base,” Pompa said of the La Joya game. “We struck out, we lined out, we popped up. We had to concentrate on swinging at strikes and taking advantage of what the defense gives you. We get on with a hit, a walk or an error, and we bunt and move people over and we get ahead. We’ve been doing that now.”
The Bulldogs have capable hitters. Jovani Favata is batting .407 with 15 RBIs and four triples. Moreno is hitting .390 with 16 RBIs and two homers. Nate Quintanilla is batting .362 with 15 RBIs.
But the important numbers are a .427 team on-base percentage and 85 walks to 89 strikeouts as a team offense. Pompa has employed 12 different lineups, and he routinely rotates his outfielders and catchers, but there has not been a drop in production.
“We go up into that batter’s box thinking to ourselves we’re only going to swing at strikes,” Favata said. “If they want to walk us, we’ll take it. From there, we find the hole and we keep building on it. A 1-0 lead becomes 2-0 and that becomes 3-0 and it just keeps coming.”
The Bulldogs have six players with an on-base percentage of at least .417, led by Favata’s .568. And they’re only getting better as the season has gone on.
A good example is the district season series against Mission High. A 1-0 squeaker in the district opener led way to a 19-6 decision in the Bulldogs’ favor when the two teams met again in the second round.
“When I was going up to bat, I used to swing at the dirt and get myself behind in counts,” Quintanilla said. “We all were going through that. But we’re all seeing the ball better. We’re swinging at strikes. With more games, we’re getting more reps at quality at-bats. We’re only getting better as the season has gone on.”
That has been a boon to the Bulldogs’ bread and butter, the pitching and defense. McAllen High has only allowed nine runs over the last nine games, resulting in four run-rule victories, and a defense anchored by the acrobatics of sophomore Robbie Maldonado and junior Keola Zamora is able to play freely and aggressively with the consistent run support.
“My philosophy has always been pitching and defense,” Pompa said. “Hitting is the icing on the cake. Our strikeouts are down. Our averages are a lot better. It’s good to have some confidence in kids hitting with men on base.
“We’re at the point where at 2-0 in the count, hey, they know they’re throwing us a strike. We shrink our strike zone and we know where the ball is supposed to be.”