McHi takes on No. 2 team in state

McALLEN - McAllen High's youthful roster certainly has its advantages.

At practice Wednesday, the players seemed almost oblivious to what they are about to face this weekend in Robstown. That might be the best way to approach a best-of-three regional semifinal series against the state's second-ranked team, San Antonio Reagan.

Game 1 is at 8 tonight at Aviator Field. Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) begin at 2 p.m. Saturday.

If the Bulldogs were nervous or worried about the Rattlers, they did a good job of not showing it. Bulldogs coach Eliseo Pompa joked with one of his players Wednesday, comparing him to Justin Timberlake.

"These kids have always been loose," Pompa said. "They have played ball in the fall and on traveling teams. We are very relaxed. I think I am more nervous inside than what I show.

"A lot of times the kids play the way the coaches act. We want to go out there and we want to play smart and play hard. We want to play some good defense and we want to have some fun."

The Rattlers will be by far the best team the Bulldogs have faced this season. Reagan has won 19 in a row and outscored their District 26-5A rivals 132-26.

McAllen High is 25-14 and finished third in District 30-5A. The Bulldogs have only five seniors on their roster and many of their key roles are filled by freshmen and sophomores.

"A good example is (Corpus Christi) Moody and Alice. Moody was ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the state," Pompa said. "It came down to one game and Alice won.

"The pressure is on (the Rattlers) and not on us. We are not the ones that have won 19 in a row. I told them streaks come to an end. Maybe this week, theirs will come to an end."

McHi was an underdog last week to La Joya but the Bulldogs were not fazed even after losing Game 1 of the series 9-1.

"It's the playoffs and you have to be able to bounce back," freshman catcher Armando Garza said. "We had a bad game but we were able to recover. You just have to go with what you got."

The Bulldogs are not entirely green to the regional semis. Last season's team advanced this deep in the postseason with some of the same players but lost in three games to Corpus Christi Carroll.

"Some of us have been on varsity for three years. We only started this year or last year but that one year of experience really helped," junior outfielder Adrian Leal said. "The one year of experience, just being around the team and the one year of playoff atmosphere like we had last year, it helps."

Peter Rasmussen covers high school baseball for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448.