By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN— The only thing preventing John Ortega from finishing a complete game was the constraints of the pitch count limit.
Ortega did a little bit of everything to help his team win, including hitting a two-run home run to lead Harlingen High over Edinburg High 7-2 in the first game of a best-of-three Class 6A bi-district playoff series Wednesday night.
“When you really don’t try to hit a home run, that’s when it happens,” Ortega said. “I was just trying to put the ball in play, and it went out.”
The senior right-hander allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings and walked three batters before reaching 110 pitches. Jaime Galvan came in to earn a one-out save.
“He got us going, and then his pitching was excellent,” said Harlingen High coach Armando Rangel. “He struggled a little bit, he’s been doing that for the last couple of games, but he fought, got us all the way to the seventh inning and we were able to close it out.”
The Bobcats loaded the bases with no outs after three straight singles in the third inning, but only managed to score once in the frame, when catcher Jorge Salinas grounded into a fielder’s choice to plate left fielder Tyler Flores.
In the fifth inning, Edinburgh High tied the game at 2 after Flores and Brandon Morin reached on dropped third strikes. Salinas slashed a double to left to score Morin.
The game turned in the bottom of the fifth with runners on second and third and two outs, when Abel Flores hit a pop-up to the right side of the infield that caught a gust of wind and drove in two runs.
The Cardinals knocked out Edinburg starter Darren Barrera after four straight hits in a five-run fifth to lead 7-2 and end Barrera’s night on the mound. Barrera allowed four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Flores scored from first on an RBI double by first baseman George Stillman. Second baseman Jacob Marroquin and catcher Aaron Pacheco each drove in and scored a run, and designated hitter Phil Guerrero drove in Pacheco.
EJ Alanis (1 1/3 innings pitched) finished the game on the mound for the Bobcats.
Game 2 in the best-of-three series begins at 7 p.m. tonight at Edinburg High.