BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
MERCEDES — A district win is great. Make it a shutout? Even better. Add the ten-run rule, and that’s just about the peak of a great outing. Edcouch-Elsa took that even one step further by beating its rival Mercedes on the Tigers’ home field 10-0 in five innings on Tuesday.
“It’s our first shutout five-inning win all season,” Edcouch-Elsa coach Ryan Garza said. “What better place to do it than on this field, against our rival Mercedes. It’s a great feeling.”
Edcouch-Elsa junior pitcher Joseph Gonzalez turned in the shutout. He pitched all five innings, getting six punchouts along the way. He scattered two hits and three walks and did it all in a tidy 85 pitches.
“In the first inning, (our offense) gave me a good cushion,” Gonzalez said. “So I came out there, and I felt comfortable. I guess I threw pretty good.”
While Gonzalez remains humble about his outing, his catcher, senior Steve Perez, was a bit more excited about his pitcher’s performance.
“(Gonzalez) really has his high fastball working,” Perez said. “Everybody was chasing the high fastball.”
Gonzalez even gave himself a boost with a good day at the dish. He went 2 for 3 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI.
“Joseph been phenomenal all season,” Garza said. “He threw a heck of a game. I feel like I say that every single game. He’s been a horse the whole way. He’s mentally strong and mentally tough.”
Perez also had a big day at the plate. He started the game with a walk and scored the last run in the fifth and final inning. Overall, Perez went 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored.
“I was just jumping on the fastball,” Perez said. “They were throwing a lot of curveballs. I looked them in and did what I could. When I got the fastball, I jumped on it.”
Now, time for a baseball riddle. How did the Yellowjackets plate four runs in the first inning without recording a hit?
Edcouch-Elsa accomplished this rare feat with five walks, two stolen bases, a defensive error and an RBI groundout.
“It was big for us,” Garza said. “It gets some confidence in you as a team. We got their pitch count up to 45. Our whole thing is to bring up the pitch count, and they will take (the pitcher) out of the game like they did in the second inning.”
In the first inning, Mercedes senior pitcher Oliver Closner threw 45 pitches. He added 33 in the next inning, and the 78 pitches, combined with the Yellowjackets 5-0 lead, chased Closner after the second.
E-E senior second baseman Josh Garcia showed how the ’Jackets can be productive even on an off night at the plate. His 0 for 2 at the plate doesn’t seem like much at first glance. Hidden behind the hitting line is a walk in the first inning. He turned that walk into a run by stealing second and coming home on a wild pitch. Garcia did more of the same in the second. He was hit by a pitch, made an excellent decision to take third on a single and barely beat the throw. Then, he scored on another wild pitch. His first at-bat cost Closner five pitches. In the second, it was an eight-pitch at-bat.
Garcia’s run in the second inning was all about a great read.
“I saw (Mercedes’ catcher) trying to block it up, and it got away from him,” Garcia said. “He didn’t know where the ball was, so I just took it.”
That’s what the Yellowjackets have done all year. They weren’t given respect, but they have taken it by getting big win after big win. And Tuesday’s win over Mercedes gives the Yellowjackets even more confidence as the team moved to 5-8 overall and 3-1 in District 32-5A, good for a tie for first place in the league standings. Mercedes dropped to 4-6 overall, 1-2 in district.
“We are the best team in the district,” Garcia said. “We work on it every day, and we practice the way we play. We give it 100 percent, and it shows in the games.”