BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
On Tuesday, Rio Grande City pulled off a huge win over Mission Veterans.
The game was scoreless into the fifth inning. The Patriots struck first, plating a run in the bottom of the fifth. Rio Grande City responded right away, scoring two in the sixth.
The reply was a welcome relief for junior pitcher Ruben Sepulveda. Sepulveda has been an outstanding starter for a while now, but this season he has had some bad luck. The offensive support and the defensive support have let Sepulveda down at times this season.
“We lost to Roma 1-0,” Rio coach Roque Cortinas said. “He threw a one hitter with 15 strikeouts, and we ended up losing. That shows that defensively, we didn’t play well, and we didn’t hit the ball.”
On Tuesday, everything went good enough for Sepulveda, who threw lights out and shut down one of the most potent offenses in the Valley.
“When he’s on the mound, we are in every ball game,” Cortinas said. “It’s just a matter of helping him out defensively and getting some runs across.”
Sepulveda has two distinct physical advantages that make him a nightmare for opposing hitters. The first is he throws left-handed — a rarity in Valley baseball. With very few lefties pitching, the different look changes a lot for hitters and can throw them off.
The second advantage is height. At 6-foot-2, Sepulveda’s long frame creates a big problem for hitters. Because of his height and wingspan, the ball is released from his hand much closer to the plate than a pitcher at an average height for the Valley. This gives hitters much less time to read and react to the pitch.
The physical gifts aren’t worth anything, though, without the talent to back it up. Sepulveda has proven he does. His three-pitch mix is deadly.
“At the beginning of last year, he was basically a fastball, curveball pitcher,” Cortinas said. “We were able to work with him to develop his changeup, which has been his money pitch this year.”
His confidence and trust in the changeup have grown, and now it is a pitch he can rely on in a sticky situation.
“(On Tuesday), we had a situation where he had runners on second and third, two out,” Cortinas said. “Cristian Ramos was up at the plate, good hitter, full-count and he threw him a changeup. It totally fooled him and he got the strikeout.”
The Rattlers now have a four-game winning streak and are looking to keep climbing in the district standings.
“Tuesday was a big win for us,” Cortinas said. “It gave us the motivation to keep it going in the right direction.”
THE RIGHT MOVE
The Donna High Redskins know they have to prove themselves. They are in a tough district with several competitive teams.
That doesn’t mean they aren’t right in the thick of things. On Tuesday, Donna High (7-7, 2-2) beat Brownsville Porter. Donna has won two of its last three games and is tied for second in the district.
“We are approaching it with a business-like mentality,” Donna coach Joey Ramirez said. “We are not going to celebrate those huge victories for too long. We are just taking it one game at a time.”
Part of what has led to the recent success for Donna is Ramirez’s willingness to try new things and experiment with lineups and positions for just about all his players.
Donna has a roster full of kids who love baseball. In Donna, football has long been king, but many of the baseball players hope to bring the same level of hype and intensity to the diamond.
Those kids have shown a willingness to try whatever Ramirez suggests.
One of the big switches was moving his son Jeremy Ramirez, a natural shortstop, to catcher.
Jeremy Ramirez has experience at catcher and used to catch his older brother Trey Ramirez. Trey was a standout at Donna and is now playing college baseball.
Jeremy Ramirez’s move has helped the team. He knows the game as well as just about anybody, and having him there lining up the defense, calling pitches and encouraging his teammates has made a huge difference.
“He’s doing exactly what we are asking him to do as a team player,” Joey Ramirez said. “(On Tuesday), I didn’t even call a single pitch. He’s the one who called the game.”
Jeremy Ramirez is also the second hitter in the order. His bat is a crucial part of the lineup.
“He’s hitting the ball awesome right now,” Joey Ramirez said. “I think he’s batting over .600. It all goes with tracking the ball. Behind the plate, you see the ball consistently and then when he goes up to bat, he’s seeing the ball really well.”
After games against Donna North and Brownsville Pace later this month, Donna High faces a tough stretch of games. The team hosts Brownsville Veterans and Mercedes before going to Edcouch-Elsa.
The Redskins will need to play well during that stretch to cement themselves as one of the top teams in the district. Joey Ramirez feels that this stretch of good play they have had is indicative of things to come.
“We found out who needs to be where and its getting there,” Joey Ramirez said. “That’s what we were looking for. And we are getting W’s now because of the changes we made.”