Peña dominates in three-inning outing for West All-Stars

MISSION - In his final high school game, La Joya's Miguel Pena once again showed why he was drafted.

The left-handed Pena, who was named Team MVP, struck out seven hitters in three innings, the West team scored two runs in both the first and second innings and added three in the fifth and four more in the eighth as they beat the East 11-1 in the 26th annual East-West All-Star Baseball Showcase on Friday night at Sharyland.

"That's something else to have a guy like that to be able to throw out there," West and Sharyland coach Barton Bickerton said. "You know he's going to get two outs for you by himself every inning. It was nice."

Pena, who was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the fifth round of the MLB Draft with the 142nd overall selection, struck out six of the first seven batters he faced. Only Harlingen High's Keith Hernandez's second-inning single stopped the La Joya starter from retiring the first six batters he faced and was the only hit he allowed. Pena only retired two batters without strikeouts.

Pena, though, hasn't signed his professional contract. But despite the risk of injury before the start of his pro career, he said he didn't think about skipping this event.

"I wanted to come in and pitch my last game here in the Valley and high school ball," said Pena, who added he will sign "in the next couple of weeks" to join Washington's farm system. "I wanted to come and throw."

Nights like Friday are part of the reason why he is choosing to wait. He knows that once he signs, he might not see the Valley anytime soon.

"I'm just waiting, enjoying my time here in the Valley," Pena said. "As soon as I sign, I'm going to leave, so I'm trying to enjoy my time with my family and friends. I wanted to come to the All-Star game."

Bickerton and Pena both decided the star lefty was going to throw Friday night. In fact, it wasn't Pena's pitching which scared Bickerton, but a stolen base in the bottom of the eighth.

"He said he wanted to pitch. I just asked him how many he thought he could go. I had already planned on throwing him three," Bickerton said. "I figured most people came to see him throw anyway, so I wanted to throw him more than anyone else."

Pena and the rest of the West staff combined to shut out the East until the eighth when Mercedes' John Bustamante homered off Roma's Fernando Garza. That, however, was about the lone highlight for the East, which struggled defensively, especially in the first when it committed three errors.

The struggles, and Pena's dominance, didn't ruin the night for East and Brownsville Hanna coach Eddie Garcia.

"We had some fun and everybody got to play," Garcia said.

Everybody also got to see Pena one final time, regardless of the risk.

Brian Sandalow covers high school sports for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4436 or via e-mail at bsandalow@themonitor.com