The McAllen Bulldogs baseball team turned some heads last week after handily beating the traditionally strong Laredo Alexander team in 2 games in the Regional Quarterfinal Playoffs. McAllen’s series win sets up a Regional Semifinal Matchup with San Antonio Churchill. These two teams also met in a Regional Semifinal Matchup in 2010 in which Churchill won in 3 games.
McAllen, 29-3, beat Alexander 6-1 in the first game and 13-1 in the 2nd game. Once again, McAllen had two strong pitching performances by starting pitchers Ram Maldonado and Abanny Garcia. Garcia, a Junior RHP, had a perfect game going into the 5th inning in Game 2. Maldonado, a Senior LHP, had a shutout until the 7th inning.
Pitching and defense has been the key for McAllen for most of the year. Speed in the outfield and a good infield, along with experience, has made McAllen a good defensive team. The Bulldogs have gotten good starting pitching not only from Maldonado and Garcia, but also from Ram’s brother Robbie Maldonado and Nate Quintanilla, both Juniors. Freshman Aaron Nixon has been solid as a relief pitcher picking up 2 saves and 2 wins in district with an 0.47 ERA. Nixon is also available as a starter if needed.
But lately, McAllen has had the bats going as well. In the Alexander series, the Bulldogs picked up 12 hits in Game 1 and 17 hits in Game 2. McAllen Head Baseball Coach Eliseo Pompa commented, “We have won games on our pitching and defense but in the last 6 games our bats have gotten hot. We’ve been playing well in all parts of the game in the playoffs.” McAllen has won their 6 playoff games by a combined score of 53-5.
McAllen is led by 4-year starter Keola Zamora. Zamora has been the Bulldog 2B since his sophomore year after playing in the outfield his freshman year. He is McAllen’s leadoff hitter and leads the team in hitting. Despite hitting leadoff, he is one of the RBI leaders on the team.
“Zamora is our go-to guy,” Pompa explained. “He is the catalyst for getting something going for our team, offensively and defensively.”
Pompa also praised #2 hitter Victor Valdez. The Senior centerfielder has been an effective #2 hitter and a very good defensive player. Pompa also described Catcher Nate Quintanilla as “the most improved player on the team.”
This is McAllen’s 3rd trip to the Regional Semifinals. In 2008, they lost in 2 games to San Antonio Reagan and then lost to Churchill in the 2010 Semifinals. But Coach Pompa feels good about their chances in 2017.
“Our kids are excited to play a team ‘up North.’ They are playing with a lot of confidence right now. We had so many come-from-behind wins early in the season. Now our guys don’t get flustered if things don’t go our way one inning. We know Churchill is a very good team but these guys have a lot of heart and are ready to play.”
McAllen and Churchill play in a best of 3 series at Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo. They play Game 1 Friday at 7:00 PM and a potential doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1:00 PM.
– Tim Baugh
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