Highlands win earns fourth-place tie with Lanier in 28-4A

By Mike Considine

A fourth local team qualified for the playoffs and two more earned a chance to advance Thursday as the District 29-4A season wound down.

Edison (14-12, 7-5) will move on as the No. 3 seed in 29-4A after shutting down Jefferson (6-17, 3-9) behind a shutout from senior ace Zach Garcia. The Golden Bears won 10-0.

Most of the drama Thursday in 28-4A was focused on Highlands and Lanier, each of whom was involved in more than its share of close games over the 12-game schedule.

That wasn’t really the case on the district season’s final day. Highlands (7-17, 5-7) defeated Brackenridge 4-1 and Lanier (9-14, 5-7) fell 15-1 to Burbank to force a fourth-place tiebreaker game to be announced.

Although each of District 29-4A playoff spots had been decided last weekend, there was no shortage of excitement in Thursday’s four games. Two big reasons were the rivalry games between McCollum and Harlandale and Kennedy and Memorial.

McCollum prevailed over its rival assure itself of the No. 2 playoff seed from 29-4A. Kennedy defeated Memorial and will enter Saturday’s game against Floresville with a chance to place fifth outright. The district season concludes Saturday.

Friday is the last day for District 28-5A this year. It promises to continue the district’s trend this year of being completely unpredictable. First-place Steele (17-12, 7-2) is the only team assured of making the playoffs.

Sixth-place East Central (13-12-2, 3-6) tuned up for the big day with a strong performance against 28-4A champion Brennan. The Hornets absorbed a tough 4-3 loss at East Central.

McCollum/Harlandale

McCollum (21-4, 9-3) exacted some revenge on rival Harlandale (12-12, 8-5) and locked down second place in 29-4A with a hard-earned 4-2 win at the Frank Tejeda Complex.

The Indians had a chance to share second place if they had won their last two games.

Harlandale, which defeated the Cowboys 10-0 April 5, is tied with Uvalde for third place, heading into their showdown at noon Saturday in Uvalde. The Coyotes lost 8-4 to district champion Medina Valley (25-2, 13-0) Thursday, so the teams remained deadlocked.

McCollum took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after falling behind early in the first meeting. The Cowboys added two more runs in the top of the fourth, but the Indians retaliated with a pair of runs in their half of the inning. McCollum added an insurance run in the fifth.

Eric Salinas was the winning pitcher for the Cowboys. No further McCollum stats were available.

Harlandale was led by Michael Agis, with two hits including a double. Indians pitcher Nickolas Martinez allowed just one earned run while striking out seven.

McCollum will play host to Southside (7-19-1, 3-10) at noon Saturday at the Tejeda complex. The Cardinals lost 7-3 at Floresville when the Tigers (9-17-1, 4-9) broke a 3-3 tie with four runs in the fifth inning.

Highlands

The Owls were led by 6-foot-1 junior Jordan DeLuna, who was the winning pitcher and drove in a run in the early game at SAISD Field No. 1.

Junior Steven Martinez went two-for-two for Highlands against Brackenridge (8-18, 2-10). Juan Diaz drove in a run. Maurice Devora blasted a double.

The Eagles tied the game 1-1 in the top of the second inning. Highlands held on after scoring twice in the fourth.

Burbank/Lanier

Burbank (13-14, 9-3) already was assured of its placing in 28-4A and its playoff status. That didn’t deter the Bulldogs at all, however, Thursday at SAISD Field No. 1 as they smacked Lanier 15-1 in five innings.

Burbank stormed to a 7-0 lead in the first inning. The Voks scored their run in the bottom of the first, but the Bulldogs pushed across four runs apiece in the second and fifth.

Senior Eduardo Salas was the winning pitcher, tossing a two hitter. The Bulldogs had 15 hits. Lanier individual statistics from the game were unavailable.

Edison

Garcia struck out 14 and allowed three hits as the Golden Bears cruised to victory at Field No. 2.

Edison scored in each of the first five innings as they built a 6-0 lead. The Golden Bears put the game to rest with a four-run rally in the top of the seventh.

Kennedy/Memorial

The Rockets (9-15, 4-9) downed rival Memorial (2-22, 2-11) 11-1 Thursday at Edgewood Field.

Kennedy scored twice in the top of the first, but the Minutemen cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning. The Rockets scored two runs in the third, five in the fourth and two in the sixth.

Rockets freshman Fabian Del Toro allowed two hits against the Minutemen. Junior Isaiah Garcia hit a home run for Kennedy.