Weekly Recap & Awards No. 5
Small School Love: Port Aransas Downs Refugio, Taft Uses Late Surge to Defeat ODem
Apparently, last week was small school week for me. I was able to make it out to parts of 4 different games. The first of those was Port Aransas taking on Refugio in the high school baseball regular season finale at Whataburger Field.
Ty Garrett kicked off the offense immediately with a double to dead center that nearly left the yard. His hit would spark an offense that would put up five runs, followed by a fantastic pitching performance on the mount by Stratton Mills. Mills would go on to throw a complete game shutout, striking out 8 Bobcats along the way. Ryan Tallent and August Riediesel would each tally an RBI to add to the effort. The Marlins have looked really good as of late, and have positioned themselves to make a playoff run with a rather young squad. Keep an eye on them.
Later that night, I ventured out to Portland to check out Odem vs. Taft in a district game. The game would stay close up until the 5th inning, but Taft opened the floodgates and put up five runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a commanding 9-3 lead. Trae Garcia had a great night offensively, going 2-4 with 3 RBI and 1 run scored. Joseph Barrios played some great defense, and also contributed an RBI, along with Jerry Chien, Andrew Martinez, and Matthew Buendia. The Greyhounds are another team looking at a playoff spot, being in the top half of their district. Photos of both teams can be found below.
Ty Garrett of Port Aransas, Celebrates after nearly hitting one out to dead center at Whataburger Field on March 25th.
Refugio’s Ray Lewis (#1, SS) Prepares to hit against Port Aransas on March 25th, 2025.
College Spotlight - Wyatt Wiatrek, UT-RGV RHP
Wyatt Wiatrek- familiar name, no?
The former Sinton standout is now a mainstay in the weekend rotation for the UT-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros, one of the hottest teams in college baseball this season. The Vaqueros made waves when they upset Dallas Baptist at Globe Life Field early in the season, and have stayed hot ever since.
Wiatrek (RHP) and the Vaqueros were right in our backyard last weekend, as they played a Southland Conference road series against the Islanders of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Coming into the game, Wiatrek was 3-0 on the season, and his performance in game two of Saturday's doubleheader propelled him to a 4-0 record. Wiatrek retired 12 of the first 13 batters that he faced, and struck out 5 batters over 6 innings, giving up no runs on 6 hits.
After things got interesting late in the game, the Vaqueros ultimately came out with another win by a final of 11-8. Wiatrek led the charge on the mound, earning him the college spotlight of the week.
Rylan Galvan, Photo from the University of Texas Athletic Department
Pro Spotlight - Nick Loftin, Kansas City Royals Utility
This week’s pro spotlight shines on a former Ray Texan and Baylor Bear- Nick Loftin. Loftin is from Corpus Christi, and was a standout at Ray High School before playing at Baylor, eventually being drafted in the 1st Round of the 2020 MLB Draft, as the 32nd overall pick to the Kansas City Royals.
Loftin has already worked his way up through the Kansas City Minor League System, and even made his MLB debut in 2023 near the end of the season. He saw action with the big league club through parts of last year, but he was shuttled back and forth between the Royals and Triple-A Omaha a few times. Coming into the 2025 season, it seems that the Royals might be doing that again. Loftin, as good as he is, is still on the line that teeters between a full-time roster spot on the big league club, and an every day guy in Triple-A. He is still one of the Royals' top young guys, so all it takes is a solid run to earn playing time at the top.
Loftin earned the spotlight this week after Triple-A action kicked off. The Omaha Stormchasers opened their season playing the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A team for- you guessed it- the Chicago Cubs. Loftin showed his strength by hitting a bases-clearing double to bring in 3-RBI. Good start early on for him. He is a fun player to watch, and it's always nice seeing a Coastal Bend native doing well in pro ball.
Photo Via AP Photo/Colin E. Braley
Notable performances from March 24th - March 30th
Teams of the Week-4A/5A/6A
6A - PSJA | 2-0 (16-2-1 Overall)
6A - Laredo United South | 2-0 (United 15-6 Overall)
6A - Los Fresnos | 2-0 (16-3-1 Overall)
6A - Laredo United | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
5A - PSJA North | 2-0 (2 District Wins, 17-2 Overall)
5A - Harlingen South | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
5A - Mission Veterans Memorial | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
5A - McAllen Memorial | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
5A - Gregory Portland | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
5A - CC Veterans Memorial | 2-0 (15-2-1 Overall)
5A - Sharyland Pioneer | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
5A - Roma | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
4A - Hidalgo | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
4A - Alice | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
4A - Pleasanton | 2-0 (16-3 Overall)
4A - Sinton | 3-0 (14-5-1 Overall)
4A - Valley View | 2-0 (2 District Wins, 11-3 Overall)
Teams of the Week 2A/3A
3A - CC London | 2-0 (2 District Wins, 16-5 Overall)
3A - Taft | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
2A - Port Aransas | 2-0 (2 District Wins, 10-5 Overall)
2A - Kenedy | 2-0 (2 District Wins)
2A - Three Rivers | 2-0 (2 District Wins, 11-5 Overall)
Calallen’s Drayton Mitchell earned a pitcher of the week award for a complete game shutout against tuloso-midway
4A/5A/6A Pitchers of the Week
Brownsville Rivera | Andres Rocha | 1GP 1W CG 5IP 0H 0R 0ER 3BB 11Ks *No Hitter*
Alice | Ale Asevedo | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 2H 0R 0ER 3BB 4Ks
CC King | Marco Barrera | 1GP CG 7IP 2H 2R 0ER 2BB 9Ks
Laredo Alexander | Frederico Hernandez | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 5H 0R 0ER 1BB 8Ks
CC Calallen | Drayton Mitchell | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 7H 0R 0ER 0BB 5Ks
Gregory Portland | Blaine Elizalde | 1GP 1W 6.2IP 5H 2R 2ER 10Ks
Hidalgo | Beto Garcia | 1GP 1W 6IP 1H 0R 0ER 4BB 7Ks
Hidalgo | Brent Szcuroski | 1GP ND 6IP 3H 0R 0ER 1BB 8Ks
Beeville | Tyler Lang | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 2H 0R 0EDR 1BB 8Ks
McAllen Memorial | RJ Rios | 1GP 1W 6.2IP 2H 1 R 0ER 4BB 14Ks
Mission Veterans | Gabriel Cantu | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 4H 2R 0ER 4BB 13Ks
CC Moody | Elohim Ramirez | 1GP 1W 5.1 IP 4H 0R 0ER 2BB 7Ks
PSJA | Jesse Garza | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 1H 0R 0ER 4BB 15Ks
Sharyland Pioneer | Ruben Lopez | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 3H 2R 2ER 7Ks
Pleasanton | Cade Segura | 1GP 1W 6.2IP 7H 1R 1ER 3BB 8Ks
Roma | Luis Diaz Jr. | 1GP 1W 6IP 3H 1R 1ER 4BB 7Ks
Mission Sharyland | Santiago Balderas | 1GP 1W CG 7Ip 2H 0R 0ER 1BB 10Ks
Sinton | Derek Garcia | 1GP 1W 5IP3H 0R 0ER 1BB 7KS
CC Veterans Memorial | Jordan Garza | 1GP 1W CG 6IP 4H 0R 0ER 4BB 6Ks
Weslaco East | Eduardo Hernandez | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 6H 1R 1ER 2BB 4Ks
Donna | Ethan Ricon | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 2H 0R 0ER 2BB 10Ks
2A/3A Pitchers of the Week
Bishop | JT Benitez | 1GP 1W CG 5IP 3H 0R 0ER 0BB 6Ks
Falfurrias | Derek Chavera | 1GP 1W CG 3IP 0 R 0ER 0BB 8Ks *Perfect Game*
Freer | Erik Leal | 1GP 1W 5.2IP 0H 1R 1ER 13Ks
Karnes City | Caleb Ingle | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 4H 1R 0ER 2BB 12Ks
Lyford | Riley Reyna | 1GP 1W CG 5IP 3H 0R 0ER 1BB 6Ks
Orange Grove | Eli Arias | 1GP 1W 6IP 4H 1R 1ER 2BB 6Ks
CC London | Noah Cervantes | 1GP 1W 4IP 0H 0R 0ER 2BB 8Ks
CC London | Ethan Ortega | 1GP 1W 6IP 3H 1R 1ER 4BB 7Ks
Port Aransas | Straton Mills 1GP 1W CG 7IP 4H 0R 0ER 1BB 8Ks
Port Aransas | Ryan Tallent | 1GP 1W 4IP 1H 0R 0ER 2BB 6Ks
Premont | Demarco Gonzalez | 1GP 1W CG 5IP 1H 0R 0ER 2BB 14Ks
Raymondville | Larry Perez | 1GP 1W CG 6IP 2H 1R 0ER 15Ks
San Diego | Jayden Lozano | 1GP 1W 6.1IP 4H 1R 1ER 2BB 14Ks
John Paull II | Dietrich Lopez | 2GP 1W CG 8IP 4H 2H 1ER 1BB 14Ks
Taft | John Franco | 1GP 1W CG 7IP 4H 3R 0ER 0BB 9Ks
Three Rivers | Jayse Alvarado | 1GP 1W 5.1IP 4H 0R 0ER 2BB 4Ks
Jourdanton | Troy Fulmer | 2GP 2W 8IP 2R 1ER 11Ks
Mathis | EJ Montemayor | 1GP 1W 6IP 2H 0R 0ER 3BB 4Ks
Stratton Mills of Port Aransas earned a Pitcher of the Week Award for his performance against Refugio on March 25th.
4A/5A/6A Hitters of the Week
Mission Sharyland | Luis Cienfuegos | .1000Avg 5AB 5Hits 1RS 4RBI 2-2B 1BB
CC Veterans Memorial | Jordan Garza | .833Avg 6AB 5Hits 1-3B 2-2B 2BB 4RBI
CC Veterans Memorial | Ryan Morgan | .750Avg 4AB 3Hits 2-2B 2RBI
Tuloso Midway | Max Lara | .750Avg 8AB 6Hits 3RS 3RBI 3-2B
Harlingen South | Kris Cruz | .714Avg 7AB 5Hits 4RS 4RBI 1-3B
Gregory Portland | Jaymen Galvan | .667Avg 6AB 4Hits 2RS 1RBI 1-2B 2SB
La Joya | Gael Zambrano | .667Avg 6AB 4Hits 1RS 4RBI 1-2B
Weslaco | Toby Perez | .625Avg 8AB 5Hits 2RS
CC Veterans Memorial | Jon Reyes | .600Avg 5AB 3Hits 3RS 1-2B 3RBI
CC Veterans Memorial | Trae Hernandez | .600Avg 5AB 3Hits 5RS 1-2B 3RBI
Alice | Maddex Carrillo | .571Avg 7AB 4Hits 1RS 1RBI
CC Veterans Memorial | Julian Colsa | .571Avg 7AB 4Hits 2RS 4RBI 1-2B
McAllen Memorial | Kane Coy | .571Avg 7AB 4Hits 2RS 3RBI 2-2B
McAllen Memorial | Sebastian Soto | .571Avg 7AB 4Hits 3RS 2RBI 2-2B
Sharyland Pioneer | Ruben Lopez | .571Avg 7AB 4Hits 1RS 6RBI 1HR
CC Veterans Memorial | Drew Bonilla | .500Avg 6AB 3Hits 3RS 2-2B 1BB 3RBI
CC Veterans Memorial | Aaron Castillo | .500Avg 6AB 3Hits 4RS 2-2B 1HR 1BB 5RBI
CC Carroll | Dax Rodriguez | .500Avg 10AB 5Hits 2RS 3RBI 3RB 2-2B
Roma | Ezra Gonzalez | .500Avg 6AB 3Hits 1RS 1RBI 1-3B
Roma | Ike Molina | .500Avg 6AB 3Hits 2RS 1RBI
2A/3A Hitters of the Week
Port Aransas | Bostyn Wagner | .833Avg 6AB 5Hits 6RS 3RBI 2-2B 2-3B 6SB
Three Rivers | Nathan Rivera | .833Avg 6AB 5Hits 6RS 1RBI
Kenedy | Daniel Pena | .778Avg 9AB 7Hits 4RS 1-2B 4RBI
Mathis | EJ Montemayor | .750Avg 8AB 6Hits 3RBI
Kenedy | Karsen Reyes | .750Avg 8AB 6Hits 1-2B 1-3B 4RS 3RBI
CC London | Aiden Salinas | .667Avg 6AB 4RS 4Hits 1RBI 2BB 2SB
John Paul II | Dietrich Lopez | .667Avg 6AB 4Hits 2-2B 1RS 2RBI
Karnes City | Colby Lamza | .600Avg 5AB 3Hits 1RS 2RBI
Mathis | Joziah Gutierrez | .600Avg 5AB 3Hits 3RS 1RBI 2BB
Port Aransas | Ty Garrett | .500Avg 4AB 2Hits 3RS 2RBI 1HR 3BB 4SB
Santa Gertrudis | Jordan Marquez | .500Avg 6AB 3Hits 1RS 1RBI 1-2B
Three Rivers | Grant Dragon | .500Avg 8AB 4Hits 2RS 2RBI
West Oso | Kendall Taylor | .500Avg 8AB 4Hits 3RS 2HR 6RBI
Calallen shuts out Tuloso-Midway 5-0 | By Marcus Sarate
The top-ranked Calallen Wildcats played host to longtime rival Tuloso-Midway in the first of two district meetings. The Wildcats are still the team to beat in Class 4A, having entered the game with an 18-0 record. TM sent Ace Max Lara to the mound, while the Cats sent Drayton Mitchell. Lara was up for the task, as pitched really well, striking out 8 over 6 innings, and holding a scorching hot offense to only five runs. Truly, a few of those runs shouldn't have happened due to miscues, but that's baseball.
The Wildcats got their usual offense from Wyatt Duke and Drayson Gamez, who both went deep off of Lara. Duke hit a shot to right field, while Gamez sent one over the left field wall. Tuloso-Midway kept it close all game and was able to get runners on base, but they just couldn't scratch a run across. Both teams will meet again on April 15th at TM, as the Warriors will look to spoil Calallen's perfect district record.
Tuloso-Midway’s Max Lara Pitches against Calallen in their first District matchup this season.
Taft Head Coach Juan Buendia Celebrates with his players in their win over Odem
