Numero Cinco: PSJA Bears clinch district championship in win against La Joya
SAN JUAN — The PSJA Bears clinched their fifth 31-6A district championship as they defeated the La Joya Coyotes at home, 6-4.
Arguably the best team in the Rio Grande Valley, when one steps onto the baseball grounds that are right next to the Dr. Daniel P. King PSJA College & University Center, it’s like stepping into some backyard baseball or more so like a backyard party.
The crowds for both squads were lively as attendees cheered on their mijos from the stands. Others sprawled around the area with lawn chairs, children were playing and laughing, and if you’re a fan of food — there was a bunch of that, too. If you were looking to break a diet, then this was the place for you.
Hell, if you were looking for a place to yell and exert energy, this was the place for you, too.
The Bears (22-5, 9-0) were not only playing for the district championship Tuesday night, but it was also Senior Night for those graduating. The Coyotes (25-6, 6-3) also came into the game as one of the tougher teams in the Valley — it’s not foreign if you see them on people’s “Top 10” lists along with PSJA.
La Joya came out hot in the first inning as they were able to put up a couple runs off of a Matthew Ortiz homerun that put the Bears in a 2-0 bind early on. Gael Zambrano did his job pitching as well as the Coyote’s defense because it’s not an easy task keeping the Bears at bay as PSJA was averaging 11.5 runs in their district stretch.
After the standstill that was the second inning, La Joya at the top of the third did have runners on the corners looking to score, but a strikeout by JT Reyna bailed them out of what could’ve been a scary inning.
At the bottom of the third, a wild throw from the defense soared over La Joya’s first baseman to get runners on second and third. PSJA’s James Cansino hit a grounder for the RBI.
Going into the top of the fourth, it was 2-1, La Joya up.
Reyna, though, finessed his way to three straight strikeouts to tame the Coyotes for the inning. He had 10 Ks on the night.
In the bottom of the fourth, Reyna showed he can play offense as well as he had a base hit to start the rotation for the Bears. After a couple of sequences, with runners on first and second, Matt Azuara hit it to center field — and what should’ve been an out — led to a dropped catch and that allowed a runner to cross the home plate to tie it up 2-2.
The Bears weren’t done there, though.
Zambrano got another strikeout to put the Bears at two outs, but with Jorge Castillo at the plate, a wild pitch got past the catcher and allowed two more runs for the Bears. The Coyotes had two errors on the night.
It was 4-2 going into the top of the fifth where the Bears kept La Joya from earning a run.
The Bears’ offense were at it again in the bottom of the fifth as Reyna earned himself an RBI to make it 5-2. Afterward, PSJA’s Zeke Garza got on the board with an RBI double to make it 6-2.
In the top of the sixth, the crowd was still in it — one would argue that they were louder than the players in the dugouts. After a couple of pop flies for two outs, Reyna threw another strikeout, which by no exaggeration caused people to dance — more specifically, the people who were watching behind home plate.
At the bottom of the sixth, the Coyotes did their thing and held the Bears scoreless.
Then that’s where it got a little hasty for the Bears.
Ortiz — the only player for the Coyotes who had a homer and RBIs — cracked it to the back fence on a full count to bring the score to 6-4. However, the Bears were able to clinch the game off of a final strikeout.
Head Coach Marco Guajardo could be seen beaming in the Bears’ dugout after the game.
“These guys just stepped it up all year long,” Guajardo said, adding that the game had a playoff atmosphere to it. “... They’ve grown and grown and grown, you know, and they’re realizing their confidence.”
Although the Bears have clinched the district championship, they play La Joya once more on Friday at their house.
After that, it’s the playoffs.