By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
A trio of Metro-area baseball teams hopes to continue their postseason journey starting today.
Los Fresnos and Brownsville Veterans Memorial swept its bi-district round in a best-of-three series and Hanna advanced after back-to-back wins after dropping its opening game.
The Falcons will face Laredo Alexander today at 8 p.m. in a three-game series at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg . Game 2 is Friday at 7 p.m. and Game 3, if necessary, is Saturday at 11 a.m.
It will be the first time either team will play at the home of the Vaqueros this season.
“I told the kids a baseball field is a baseball field, only the measurements change, but we still have to go out and play,” Los Fresnos coach Rene Morales said. “They have to play on it just like we do.”
Los Fresnos is confident after a 16-run offensive outburst in its opening-round sweep of Weslaco High, but know they will have to keep the Laredo Alexander’s bats at bay in the area round.
“We’re going to go out there and do what we do, just play hard-nosed baseball,” Morales said. “I know they hit the ball well, so we’re going to have to play great defense behind our pitching.”
Morales said it would take a team effort against the Bulldogs.
“We’re going to have to do the little things right,” he said. “If we can pitch, play defense and score some runs ourselves … if we can put all three together, we’ll be OK.”
The Chargers face a familiar opponent in Laredo United — the same team that swept them last year in the same round.
Their series, which will be played in Roma, starts Friday at 7:30 p.m. Game 2 is at 2 p.m. Saturday with Game 3, if necessary, following Game 2.
Brownsville Veterans also doesn’t mind playing at a neutral site.
“It’s neutral for both of us,” Brownsville Veterans coach Eric Gonzalez said. “At the end of the day, the bases are still 90 feet and the ball still has to go over the plate. Whoever brings their game is going to win.”
Gonzalez said his main concern regarding Laredo United is their playoff experience, but he also a group of seniors that have been here before.
The Chargers coach is confident that his team is ready to face the Longhorns.
“If Freddie (Villarreal) is on, it will be a low scoring game for them,” Gonzalez said of Friday’s matchup. “But we still have to swing the bats, hopefully like we did (against PSJA North). Freddie has done a good job of keeping guys from scoring, but Saturday could be more high scoring, we’ll see how it goes.”
The Golden Eagles play La Joya Palmview starting at 7:30 p.m. Friday at home and continue the series Saturday at the La Joya Complex. Game 2 is slated for 1 p.m. and Game 3, if necessary, follows shortly after.
Hanna is riding a wave of momentum after back-to-back wins in the bi-district round, but faces a tough task against the Lobos.
“It definitely helped to bounce back like that, it builds confidence,” Hanna coach Eddie Garcia said. “We had the timely hitting that we had trouble with (earlier in the year). They shared the district title, we’ll have our hands full, that’s for sure.”
Garcia said that La Joya Palmview is an experienced playoff team, so it’s going to take the little things to make a difference.
“We just have to play ball, make some plays and give ourselves a chance,” he said. “We can’t have any base running mistakes. We need to continue timely hitting. Our pitching needs to continue keeping them off-balanced. We have to put everything together, we can’t give them any extra outs, any extra chances. They’re that good.”
But the coach knows his players just needs to believe in themselves .
“Hopefully the momentum keeps going,” Garcia said. “They know they can play well. If they have fun, they have a chance. You have to show up with confidence, believe in your abilities. We just have to play.”
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.