La Joya Palmview Falls in Quarterfinals to End Historic Run

 admin  |    May 20th, 2014

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Article and picture by Jonathan Salinas of 956Sports
Twitter @Jon_956Sports
http://956sports.com/go/

As Laredo Alexander’s first baseman Gabe Sanchez made a diving catch in foul territory to secure the 1-0 victory, the sudden realization of defeat had finally sunk in for the Palmview Lobos.

The team that was riding high off a 10-game winning streak had finally reached its unfortunate end. The team that had earned the reputation late in the season for their crazy come-from-behind antics had finally run out of magic. The historic run that saw their first district title, bi-district title and area title in school history had finally come to an halt against the No. 6th ranked team in the state, according to the THSBCA.

And, the Lobos hung in there with them until the very last pitch.

“A record of 25-6 is nothing to be ashamed of,” Lobos coach Ricky Garcia said. “I’m proud of my team. These guys played great, we’re a great ball club and hopefully it’s the development of something new; a great program.”

With ace pitcher Chris Rocha on the mound for the Lobos, Palmview was in it until the very end as he had another great outing recording 10 strikeouts while allowing only six hits. The Lobos offense, on the other hand, was a different story.

With Laredo Alexander’s ace, Alan Campero, on the mound, the Lobos were having a tough time providing any type of run support for their senior hurler.

“We didn’t score, we didn’t help him out,” Garcia said. “What can I say? We played them tough…and we shut them down to one run. It didn’t happen and they played their hearts out.”

With two star-studded pitchers like Rocha and Campero, odds were in favor of a tight pitcher’s duel. However, no one could have possibly predicted the 1-0 outcome.

The lone run of the night came in favor of Alexander and early in the bottom of the second inning. With runners on first and third, Rocha delivered a high wild pitch that allowed Sergio Macias to reach home. The Bulldogs later threatened to tack on to the lead loading the bases but a great pickoff at third by catcher Cesar Rosales and a groundout by Gabe Sanchez ended the inning.

“We called a pitch and things happen,” Garcia said of the lone run. “Things happen when you call pitches like that and that’s how it works. That’s how baseball goes. Baseball’s a funny game; it’ll make or break you.”

Palmview had its chances to equalize and even surpass the Alexander Bulldogs but could never seem to come up with the clutch hit as the Lobos abandoned four runners in scoring position throughout the night.

In the first, Eleazar Garcia found himself on second base after a throwing error on a routine grounder gone awry. In the second, with one out and a runner on, Ernesto Garza whacked a double down the third base line to put them in prime position to tie it up. The Alexander defense, however, held strong as they recorded a groundout and a strikeout to end the threat.

“We had some very good opportunities early in the game and we didn’t take advantage. That cost us the game and that’s something the guys coming back next year have to work on,” senior pitcher Chris Rocha said. “Hitting the ball is the key, it’s always been the key.”

With the win, Alexander will go on to the next round and face the winner of Corpus Christi King and San Antonio Reagan. For Palmview, the loss brings a historic season to an early bitter end.
“This was an amazing season. We had our ups and downs with the players and coaches and everyone that was involved with our program,” Rocha said. “We know, I know that we could have beat this team. We just didn’t take advantage of the situations we had and it didn’t go our way.”