THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Odessa High School Athletics

Anthony Chavez converted the game-ending double play to help the El Paso Montwood baseball team secure a win in Friday’s opener of a best-of-three bi-district playoff series with Odessa High. The 6-foot-3, 165-pound senior entered Saturday’s contest as the starting pitcher and he didn’t let his team down on the mound or at the plate. Chavez allowed one run on two hits over six innings and supplied a bases-clearing triple to guide the District I-6A champion Rams to a 9-1 victory and a bi-district series sweep against the Bronchos — the No. 4 seed from District 2-6A — at Pressly Field. “(Chavez) got hurt at the beginning of the year and he’s been up and down,” El Paso Montwood head coach Willie Romo said. “We told him the key to us continuing our run in the playoffs was him. Whenever he can have command of his changeup, which is his best pitch, we can do some things. He had a lot of command of changeup and he spotted up his fastball.” During the two-game series, El Paso Montwood supplied 22 hits — four for extra bases. The Rams (25-5) closed out the series with 12 hits on Saturday, which included RBI triples from Fernie Zubia and Chavez. El Paso Montwood scored the final nine runs of the game — three in the third inning and six in the fifth. “(El Paso Montwood) pounded the ball for two straight games,” Odessa High head coach Josh Hulin said. “They hit fastballs. They hit curveballs. They hit the ball the other way. They pulled it in the gap. It was a really good weekend for them swinging it and then they had two good performances on the mound in back-to-back days. “I thought we battled well today. At the plate, we fought, but we just didn’t win those battles. I’m proud of my guys. We just got beat by a team that’s playing some really good baseball.” Chavez entered the contest with a three-game win streak on the mound as he holds a 4-1 record. The El Paso Montwood senior left-handed pitcher was informed late Friday night that he would start Game 2. Chavez needed 90 pitches to navigate through six innings. He collected four strikeouts and gave up two walks. “We had a team meeting (Friday night) and Coach Romo said ‘We have to play the second game like we are down 1-0,’” Chavez said. “They told me I was on the mound and I just prepared myself accordingly.” Chavez’ counterpart was Odessa High senior right-handed pitcher Shandon Herrera. Herrera escaped a pair of early jams as his defense converted a double play in the first inning and he notched back-to-back strikeouts to end the second. The senior starting pitcher gave Odessa High its first and only lead of the series when he supplied an RBI double to left-center field in the top of the third inning. “It felt good,” Herrera said about the RBI double. “I just wanted to help my team in any way I could. I just wanted to give the guys some energy.” However, El Paso Montwood would respond in the bottom of the frame and this was a jam that Herrera didn’t escape unscathed. Zubia supplied a two-run triple to give the Rams a 2-1 lead and Joshua Powell followed with an RBI single. The Rams added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth and Chavez effectively ended Herrera’s day on the mound with a three-run triple to deep right-center field. Andrew Garcia, Brian Rodriguez and Jose Quintana each supplied an RBI in the inning. “I knew they were going to throw off-speed pitches, because I kept chasing in the dirt in the last game,” Chavez said. “(Herrera) just left it hanging on the inside half and I just drove it.” El Paso Montwood advances to the area round and faces Weatherford — the No. 3 seed from District 3-6A. The Rams reached the area round in 2016, but lost to Midland Lee — a team that made the Region I-6A championship game. “It’s not too often that we achieve a bi-district title,” Romo said. “This team was expected to win district. We achieved it. When you are the No. 1 seed and you are playing the No. 4 seed, you are expected to win it and we won it. Now, we have to surpass expectations.” With the loss, the Bronchos end their season with an 18-15 record as they reached the playoffs for the third straight season. Herrera, who is signed to play baseball at Lubbock Christian in the fall, was proud of the team’s resiliency throughout the season. The Bronchos were forced to play without Robert Morales — a senior shortstop and starting pitcher signed to Odessa College — for nearly the entire month of April with an arm injury. “It’s always tough to end,” Herrera said. “I’m super proud of all of them. I wouldn’t change anything for the world. We battled through a lot of adversity and we could have gave up in the season, but we stuck through it and I’m proud of that.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Odessa High School Athletics

EL PASO MONTWOOD DEFEATS ODESSA

ROYAL MCGREGOR

OA Online | 5/6/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Jacob Ford