PSJA North defeats Los Frsnos for Harlingen Bash title

HARLINGEN — PSJA North head baseball coach Charlie Villegas accepted the championship trophy Saturday after winning the Third Annual Harlingen Baseball Bash in runaway fashion.

His team had just belted a very solid Los Fresnos club 14-4 and there was a slight smile on his face.

But it was there for only a second. A second was all he was allowing himself and the Raiders to celebrate a job well done.

"Because come Tuesday we get to work at trying to bring home the District 31-5A trophy. That’s the trophy we have our eye on," Villegas said.

Still, Villegas was proud of his ballclub as it hammered out 15 hits, including two triples and a double as the Raiders (10-5) broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the fourth by scoring five runs to go up 8-3.

The Falcons (10-4) scored a run in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 8-4. But in the bottom of the frame the Raiders’ offense simply went wild, scoring six runs to take a 14-4 advantage and force the umpires to evoke the 10-run rule, and end the game with only two outs.

Jorge Perez had a big afternoon for the Raiders, going 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs scored and three RBIs.

Alex Gutierrez was also hot at the plate as he went 3-for-4 with a triple, three runs scored and two RBIs.

But it was Luis Lerma who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for his consistent play all weekend. In Saturday’s finals he was held to just two official plate appearances as he was hit by a pitch in the first and walked in the fourth, but he managed to score each time he was on base.

"This was a team win. All tournament we played like a team and that’s why we won the title — not because of one individual," Lerma said.

Josh Hernandez picked up the win as he limited the Falcons to four runs on five hits, giving up four walks and striking out one in 4 2/3 innings.

Chris Ceballos was charged with the loss as he gave up three earned runs on nine hits in four innings.

Saturday proved a bit of role reversal for each team. Last Saturday, the Falcons won the Mercedes Knights of Columbus tournament while North took second place at the PSJA ISD Mike Rodriguez tourney.

In other tournament action, Harlingen High (13-3) edged Harlingen South (7-9) for third place with a 3-2 win on Saturday morning.

Sophomore Kevin Ledesma picked up the win in relief as he came in for starter Richard McNutt, who went six innings but was pulled with the game tied at 2-2.

The Cards went 4-1 in the tournament, losing only to San Benito in their opening game on Thursday.