By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Shouldering the weight of a high school baseball pitching staff can be considered a formidable task for any teen-aged athlete.
Los Fresnos High School’s Nick Montemayor gladly accepted the challenge and turned that weight into 1.58.
That’s not pounds, but instead the senior’s sparkling earned run average from the 2016 season. Pair that up with Montemayor’s 9-3 win-loss record — including a perfect showing in district play — and the young standout easily earned the recognition as The Brownsville Herald’s Pitcher of the Year.
Montemayor helped Los Fresnos win 25 games this spring, including an 11-3 team mark in District 32-6A. The Falcons played to a runner-up finish in the league as the team advanced to the area round of the playoffs behind the motor of their top hurler.
“It feels good,” Montemayor said. “But I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my defense. All the wins I got, my defense and the bats helped me out a lot.”
Shrugging off three non-district losses that each came by one run, Montemayor dominated during the district slate.
The right-hander was 5-0 with a 1.40 ERA against district foes with five complete games (including two shutouts). Montemayor pitched 35 innings in district while allowing just 11 runs (seven earned), 32 hits — all singles — and six walks to go with 31 strikeouts.
“He put the team on his back when he was on the mound,” Los Fresnos coach Rene Morales said. “He knew he had to pitch his best every time out. Without him, we wouldn’t have been where we were at.”
Montemayor also hit .333 (with a .389 on-base percentage) with 11 hits (four doubles), six runs and 10 RBIs. He also walked twice and struck out six times during 14 district games.
Montemayor also recently signed to play baseball as a preferred walk-on for Texas A&M International University, an NCAA Division II school in Laredo. He will have the opportunity to earn a scholarship after his freshman campaign.
The pitcher worked really hard in the offseason to get through tough situations. Last year, he appeared to get frustrated when falling behind in the count. But this season he refocused and threw more strikes.
“I had a lot more confidence this year,” Montemayor said. “And my teammates built my confidence.”
Morales took notice.
“He did a helluva job for us this year on the mound,” he said. “Every time he was up there, the kids played with a lot of confidence. Everyone knew what their role was. They played together. Their chemistry was great.
“He threw with a lot of confidence and he knew the guys behind him were going to respond.”
With Montemayor’s help, Los Fresnos set program records this season, including wins in a season. The team also advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in school history.
“We accomplished a lot of things this year,” Morales said. “We’ve set some goals, but we don’t want to look to far ahead, we just want to keep it going.”
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.