Eagle Pass Eagles Rally to Edge San Antonio O’Connor Panthers in Game 1 of Regional Quarterfinals Championship
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
The mighty Eagle Pass High School Eagles rallied from a 2-0 deficit to edge the San Antonio O’Connor High School Panthers 5-4 in Game 1 of their best of three series for the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Region IV-6A Regional Quarterfinals Championship on Thursday, May 19, 2022 at the City of Eagle Pass Patsy Winn Sports Complex in Eagle Pass, Texas, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
The visiting Panthers tallied one unearned run in the top of the first inning off Eagles starting pitcher, Alex Paniagua, as Quinten Estrada got on base with one out on an Eagles infielder throwing error followed by Dillon Lopez drawing a base on balls, the next Panther batter flied out to center field for the second out, and Javier Rosales singled to left field scoring Estrada to take an early 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Eagles stranded one runner on base as first baseman Derek Ruiz stroked a single to right field before the third out fell on a ground ball.
In the top of the second inning, Eagles ace pitcher Alex Paniagua struck out the side to keep the game close at 1-0.
The Eagles threatened in the second inning as Eagles catcher Joaquin Olivas got on base on a Panthers fielding error with one out followed by a fielder’s choice by third baseman Luis Kancheff, forcing Olivas out at second base, and Kancheff getting on first base with two outs, followed by a single to left field by center fielder Isaac Stanwick advancing Kancheff to third base, but pinch hitter Izhar Mauricio hit an infield ground-ball forcing an out of Stanwick at second base to end the threat.
In the top of the third inning, the Panthers scored one run as Giancarlo Maldonado singled to lead off the inning, followed by a strikeout of the next batter, an intentional walk issued to Dillon Lopez, advancing Maldonado to second base, and Panther pitcher Cross Valdez stroked an RBI single scoring Maldonado to take a 2-0 lead, and Eagles pitcher Alex Paniagua struck out the next batter for the second out, and the next Panther batter grounded out to end the inning.
The Eagles tallied two runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the score 2-2 as lead off hitter Aidan Lopez received a base on balls, followed by a second base on balls on Mathew Elizondo, Derek Ruiz belted a single to score Lopez, and Jared Romero slapped an RBI single to score Ruiz before the Panthers executed a double play to end the inning.
In the top of the fourth inning, the Panthers failed to score despite a single by Aaron Olivas with two outs.
The Eagles erupted for three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 5-2 lead, which they never relinquished to earn the win, as Luis Kancheff received a base on balls with one out, Issac Stanwick slammed a double advancing Kancheff to third base, Ramon Salinas hit a rocket down the third base line for a triple scoring Kancheff and Stanwick, Aidan Lopez hit an infield fielder’s choice groundball to score Salinas before the next batter struck out to end the inning, rallying to take a 5-2 lead over the Panthers.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Panthers plated two runs to narrow the score 5-4 as Quinten Estrada received a base on balls forcing Eagles starting pitcher to be relieved by Donovan Becerra with no outs, followed by an RBI double slapped by Dillon Lopez to score Estrada, the next two batters struck out, Miguel Bustamante stroked an RBI single scoring Lopez, and the next batter struck out.
The Eagles threatened to score in the bottom of the fifth inning but stranded two runners on base as Derek Ruiz belted a double for his third base hit in the game, Jared Romero received a base on balls, Robert De La Garza hit a fielder’s choice to force Ruiz out, and the next two batters flied out to end the threat.
In the top of the sixth inning, Eagles relief pitcher Donovan Becerra struck out the first batter, Aaron Olivas slapped a single, but Becerra got the next two batters out to end the Panthers threat.
The Eagles stranded a runner on base in the bottom of the sixth inning as the first batter struck out, Ramon Salinas got on base on a throwing error and advanced to second base, but the Panthers executed a double play to retire the Eagles threat.
With the game on the line in the top of the seventh inning, Eagles relief pitcher Donovan Becerra struck out the first Panther batter, the second batter flied out, walked the third batter Dillon Lopez with the potential game tying run, but struck out the next batter to preserve the hard fought win over the pesky Panthers, 5-4, causing Eagles players and aficionados to erupt in jubilation.
Eagles pitchers Alex Paniagua and Donovan Becerra combined their efforts to limit the Panthers to only six hits, silencing the potent Panthers hitters and allowing Paniagua to notch the win while Becerra earned the save.
With the win, the Eagles take a 1-0 lead in the best of three series and now travel to San Antonio on Friday, May 20, to play Game 2 at 6 p.m. at the San Antonio Northside Independent School District Sports Complex Baseball Field No. 2 (Loop 410 & Culebra Road) seeking to clinch the Regional Quarterfinals Championship.
Game 3, if necessary, will be played at the neutral site of Jourdanton Independent School District Sports Complex Baseball Stadium in Jourdanton, Texas at a time to be determined.
The City of Eagle Pass Patsy Winn Sports Complex hosted its first high school playoff game on May 19 with the Eagles edging the San Antonio O’Connor Panthers 5-4 in a classic Texas high school baseball game.
All Eagle Pass Eagles aficionados are invited to attend Game 2, and if necessary Game 3, to support and cheer the Eagles on to victory against the Panthers.
Go Eagles Baby!
