By Rey Sifuentes Jr.
Laredo Alexander High School’s varsity baseball team (ranked third in the state) was not happy that Eagle Pass knotted up their District 29-5A opener (5-5 in the bottom of the sixth inning) held here on Tuesday night.
Alexander skipper Mario Garcia, according to Eagle Pass’ Reynol Mendoza, threw two major tantrums (in which he exchanged words with both officials and one of EPHS’ players), and then the number three team in Texas picked up it toys and went home.
Currently, the Eagles are accredited with the win as officials have declared Alexander’s departure as a forfeit – but further action by the district executive committee may be forthcoming.
Behind 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Eagles rallied and tied the score.
Mendoza said that Garcia contested the Eagles’ final run, but the umpires did not overturn it. That prompted Garcia to go into a heated verbal tirade (including throwing his cap to the ground and kicking it) that lasted about three minutes.
Meanwhile, a handful of upset Alexander fans became vocally belligerent, and were ejected by officials.
The top of the seventh inning commenced briefly, but action came to a halt again when Alexander’s batter traded words with Eagle Pass’ catcher.
Both coaches came out to settle their players, and then Garcia (according to Mendoza) began berating the Eagles’ catcher. Mendoza stepped in front of Garcia, in defense of his catcher, and Garcia bumped his shoulder intoMendoza.
That is when both teams cleared their benches.
Mendoza admits that none of his players or assistant coaches exchanged blows.
“The only contact that took place was when Garcia bumped his shoulder into me,” Mendoza said.
Officials tried to continue the game, but the Bulldogs had had enough.
“After all of the commotion, the umpires got everything under control,” Mendoza said. “They tried to resume the game and start the seventh inning. But at that time Coach Garcia decided not to play anymore. So the umpires called the game. The umpires told me that Alexander refused to continue the game, and so that it counted as a forfeited win for us.”
Garcia supposedly pointed at the EP crowd when asked by the umpire why is team was packing up and going home.
“Coach Garcia said that his team was not going to play in front of ‘these fans’,” Mendoza said. “By that point, our fans were all excited and riled up. C.C. Winn had just concluded its softball game held here, so all of that crowd came here so we had a full crowd that was completely into the game. We had nothing to cheer for until the bottom of the sixth inning as we were losing 5-0. We scored five in the bottom of the sixth and our crowd, of course, got loud.”
Both teams are scheduled to meet again in Laredo on April 5.
BEFORE TUESDAY
The Eagles won three games and then dropped two straight while competing at a tournament hosted by Comal Independent School District Thursday through Saturday.
EPHS defeated Seguin 16-1, San Antonio Burbank 7-2, and Boerne Champion 8-4; then lost against state front runners Calallen 7-2 and John Paul II 10-3.
Mendoza said each of his team’s losses were the result of a poor stanza.
“Against Calallen (who is ranked number one in state as a 4A) we were tied 2-2 when we had our bad inning,” Mendoza said. “Versus John Paul (number one in state TAPPS 5A division) we were also tied 2-2 and one bad inning became the difference.”
EPHS has hung tough against formidable opponents, but one bad inning has been a consistent hindrance.
“One of the biggest things we need to improve is our consistency,” Mendoza said. “We tend to have a bad inning when we play against the tough teams. Among the four toughest teams we have played so far this season, we have had a total of five bad innings which have cost us the games. I think if we just become more consistent in making the necessary plays, and eliminate errors, then we should be okay.”
Thus the reason Mendoza annually schedules his teams to face tough opponents during non-district.
“I always strive to play the toughest competition as possible during non-district because you need to play the best teams in order to find out what you need to do to beat them,” Mendoza said. “Especially this year, our district is going to be very tough. So we are playing as many tough teams as possible in order to get ready for district.”
Getting into the playoffs – which the Eagles traditionally accomplish – will not be an easy task this season.
“Of the seven teams in our district, about six are legitimate contenders for the district title and the four available playoff sports,” Mendoza said. “So there are not going to be any easy games for anyone in this district. Most of the time, if not all, we are going to go up against our opponents’ number one pitcher. All of the Laredo schools tend to throw their number one pitchers at Eagle Pass.”
