Three’s Company
Rattlers, Lobos, and Coyotes gear up for Area Championships
There is never a good time to drop a ball or miss a pitch. Playoff baseball demands excellence. So, it’s only fitting that the three remaining Big 7 baseball teams in the UIL State Playoffs are RGV baseball royalty. After tough first round matchups, the Sharyland Rattlers, La Joya Palmview Lobos and La Joya Coyotes are moving onto the Area round of the UIL State Playoffs; one step away from heartbreak and one step closer to a state championship.
Sharyland Rattlers
Record: (15-1, 30-3 overall)
This season, the Sharyland Rattlers have returned to the top of the RGV baseball world. The Rattlers have played their most dominant and consistent season since their last Regional Final appearance in 2019. They secured their third district championship in four years after finishing with only one blemish in the loss column, and the Rattlers defeated the Donna Redskins in the Bi-District round in a two-game sweep. They now advance to the Area Championship as the seventh-ranked 5A baseball team in the state of Texas in the most recent THBCA (Texas High Baseball Coaches Association) poll.
The Rattlers’ lineup is batting over .500 as a collective this postseason. They totaled 26 hits in their two-game Bi-District Championship sweep against Donna. Rattlers’ aces Emilio Villarreal and Sergio Ibarra combined for 19 strikeouts while only allowing six hits apiece. The stalwart duo has combined for 134 strikeouts and an ERA below 2.00. The Rattlers pitching staff is one of the best in Texas high school baseball. Heber Garza, Roy Rodriguez, Rabath Vargas, the Balderas brothers, Luis and Santiago, and a freshman, Santiago Alvarez, are all equally precise and resilient.
The Rattlers will face the Corpus Christi Ray Texans in the Area championship, a best-of-three series, to determine who advances to the Regional Semi-finals to face the winner of the Liberty Hill and MacArthur series. The Balderas brothers will need to deliver at the plate and in relief against the Texans, who are 16-1 in their last 17 contests. This season, Luis is batting .449 with 31 RBI. Senior centerfielder Nic Valdez is batting an equally impressive .474 with 46 hits and 28 RBI. The Texans have only surrendered 6 runs since April, so something’s got to give.
Rattlers’ head Coach Austin Bickerton, like his father before him, has once again turned the Rattlers into a baseball juggernaut. This season has been historic for the Rattlers, who’ve been state-ranked nearly the entire season and are currently having one of their statistical best seasons in school history. A series win against the Texans would only add to their illustrious journey.
The Rattlers and Texans Area Championship Schedule is as follows: Thursday (5/7) at 6 p.m. at Sharyland High School, Friday (5/8) at 6p.m. at Cabaniss Field in Corpus Christi, Saturday (5/9) at 5 p.m. (if necessary) at Calallen High School.
Update:
SHARYLAND RATTLERS TOOK SERIES WIN OVER CC RAY IN TWO GAMES TO MOVE ON TO NEXT ROUND.
Palmview Lobos
Record: (15-1, 24-6-2 overall)
The Palmview Lobos enter the Area round in a familiar spot. Last season, the Lobos faced the McAllen Nikki Rowe Warriors after overcoming the Flour Bluff Hornets in a tough Bi-District championship series, only days after securing their fourth consecutive district championship. Not much has changed this season. The Lobos won their fifth consecutive district title, followed by a tight three-game series win over the Hornets in the Bi-District round, advancing them to face the Warriors in the Area round for the second consecutive year.
“Every year is a different year with new ballplayers, but we’ve been blessed to have great kids that came up and can play ball. Not only that, I’ve always been blessed with a great coaching staff,” Lobos’ head Coach Manuel “Ricky” Garcia said when describing what drives the Lobos’ success.
That series was an all-time great, featuring two one-run walk-off plays that ended Games 1 and 3. Game 3 was a 13-inning, seven-hour dogfight that saw the Lobos escape with a 4-3 victory after Jaime Cordova’s sacrifice fly drove in Juan Chavez to win the series. This year, after getting blanked by the Hornets in the first game of their Bi-District series, the Lobos came back thanks to three quality starts from Joseph Martinez, Cordova, and Osi Lopez. The trio struck out 18 while only allowing four earned runs. At the plate, Martinez and sophomore first baseman Javier Garza combined for 10 hits, with Garza totaling 4 RBI and Martinez batting a staggering .667.
“Flour Bluff is one tough opponent. They have been for the last two years. But our kids came back because they’re competitors. We were able to fight back, do what we needed to do, and advance to the next round,” Garcia said about the matchup versus the Hornets.
The Lobos’ dynamite trio will have their hands full against the Warriors, who won 20 or more games for the third time in five years and swept one of Brownville’s best squads: The Brownsville Rivera Raiders (23-6-1, 15-2). The Warriors’ potent lineup and stubborn defense, with notable sluggers and fielders like Matthew Garza, Alex Leon, and J.C. Garza Jr., make them one of the best teams the Lobos face this season.
“They’re a great ball club. They’re a well-coached ball club. Coach [Michael] Segovia does a great job over there. Looking at MaxPreps and some of their scores, they had some good games against quality teams. So I know it’s going to be a tough series between us,” Coach Garcia said about their Area round opponents.
Yet, competing against and beating the best is what greatness demands. The Lobos know those demands and understand that feeling better than most. They’re seeking their third Regional Finals appearance in four years. To accomplish that goal, the Lobos’ young depth will need to provide support and claim ownership of their own identity alongside the veteran core, as they have in all their deep playoff runs. Players like Adrian Martinez and Jaden Gutierrez will be crucial to the Lobos’ success. Martinez’s .446 slugging percentage and 14 RBI have been vital next to Javier Garza’s (39 H, 40 RBI) and Joseph Martinez’s (41 H, 25 RBI) plate excellence.
If history is any indication, the series between the Lobos and the Warriors should be explosive. The Lobos will rely on their cornerstones: Belief, Trust, and Faith to get the job done.
“It’s going to be a great series. Last year we went thirteen innings,” Garcia said with laughter when asked what to expect from the matchup.
The Lobos and Warriors Area Championship Schedule is as follows: Thursday (5/7) at 7 p.m. at Palmview High School, Friday (5/8) at 7 p.m. at Nikki Rowe High School, Saturday (5/9) at 2 p.m. (if necessary) at Nikki Rowe High School.
Update:
PALMVIEW LOBOS TOOK SERIES WIN OVER ROWE IN TWO GAMES TO MOVE ON TO NEXT ROUND.
La Joya Coyotes
Record: (7-3, 28-6 overall)
The La Joya Coyotes are in the midst of one of their greatest seasons in school history. The Coyotes’ twenty-eight wins overall are the most in nearly two decades. When head Coach Guadalupe “Wally” Barrera took over for Mario Flores Jr., the expectation was to remain consistent but reach new heights. The Coyotes are well on their way toward realizing that goal.
“These boys deserve all the credit they can get,” Barrera exclaimed about his team’s success this year.
The Coyotes swept the formidable Brownsville Veterans Chargers in the Bi-District championship, outscoring them 17-7. Gael Zambrano blanked the Chargers in a complete, one-hit, Game 1 victory. Axel Pulido and Matthew Ortiz both homered, and the Coyotes won despite committing three more errors than their opponents. Everything was working.
“The bats were hot this past weekend. The top of the lineup, the bottom of the lineup, the heart of the lineup, they all came through when we needed them,” Barrera said about the Coyotes’ first-round victory.
In Game 2, Coyotes’ junior starter Alex Bocanegra struggled but maintained his composure against the resurgent Chargers. He was supported by impressive batting performances from Samuel De Leon and Rolando Solis, who finished with four and two RBIs, respectively. A clutch hit in the bottom of the sixth from Roy Martinez sealed the Coyotes’ one-run victory and sent them to the Area Championship, where they’ll face their toughest test of the season against the Medina Valley Panthers (9-3, 22-8 overall).
“We have to play fundamentally sound baseball. We have to stick to our element. I always preach to the kids that it’s no secret the team with the fewest errors wins. It’s got to be near perfect baseball,” Barrera said when explaining the level of excellence it takes to advance in the playoffs.
The Coyotes will need to continue playing the same inspired baseball that’s carried them to a 9-2 stretch, complete with clutch victories over teams like Economedes and PSJA High.
Matthew Ortiz, Gael Zambrano, Axel Pulido, Samuel De Leon, and Alex Bocanegra make up the incendiary core of the most powerful lineups in RGV baseball. They’ll need to perform well to stave off the pesky Panthers in what could very well be a high-scoring matchup. They’ve smacked 238 of the Coyotes ‘ 300-plus hits and have driven in 77% of the team’s 249 runs. On the mound, Zambrano and Bocanegra will need to deliver once again as they face a powerful Panthers’ offense capable of scoring timely runs. The duo has combined for 123 strikeouts this season.
“I trust the boys, and I trust the work they’ve been putting in. It’s a really great group of kids with really great approaches at the plate. I trust that they’re able to come in and provide runs when needed,” Barrera said when describing the expectations he has of his players this weekend.
The Coyotes toughest test awaits them. As they continue making history, the stakes of every moment they occupy on the diamond only intensify. They’ll marshal all they can to overcome the moment, secure in the knowledge that it’s been done before. La Joya doesn’t dream of winners; they expect them.
“In La Joya, we expect longer seasons. We expect to make deep playoff runs. I’ve been blessed to be the head baseball coach at La Joya High. The kids have really grown, matured, and taken on the expectations we have as a team and program. It’s definitely been a special year. If we have the first opportunity to be the first La Joya ISD program to get to state, we want to take that and bring back a state championship,” Barrera said about the Coyotes ‘ future goals.
The Coyotes and Panthers Area Championship Schedule is as follows: Thursday (5/7) at 7 p.m. at Gregory Portland High School, Friday (5/8) at 7 p.m. at Gregory Portland, Saturday (5/9) at 12 p.m. (if necessary) at Gregory Portland.
Update:
LA JOYA COYOTES TOOK SERIES WIN OVER MEDINA VALLEY IN TWO GAMES TO MOVE ON TO NEXT ROUND.
