Los Fresnos News

A Thrilling Showcase

By Ruben Rodriguez
Los Fresnos News

After the success of the 2022 RSL STARS Softball Showcase, Baseball took its turn in front of the spotlight. Four teams composed of the best players in the Rio Grande Valley and Coastal Bend saw the RGV Racers and Lightning, against the Coastal Bend Breeze and Barracudas. The RGV Lightning were led by Milan Guerra, while the Racers were led by Raul Zamarripa. The Coastal Bend Breeze were led by Lauro Guerra and the Barracudas by Javier Guzman.


Day one saw the Breeze take on the Lightning, while the Barracudas took on the Racers. Both games are timed at Two hours, winners advance to the championship game on day two. The Lightning would be first to score in the top of the third, but an explosive bottom third and fourth innings saw the Breeze break the game open. Defensive dominance on the mound from Carsen Flores of Rockport-Fulton would shut down the Lightning’s rally as the Breeze would hold on to win 7-5.


Game two saw the Racers take on the Coastal Bend Barracudas. Same case as the first matchup, the Racers took control early on, but the Barracudas took control in the top of the fifth, scoring seven runs. The Racers mounted a three run comeback but were shut down by the Barracudas to win 7-5.


Day two saw the RGV Racers and Lightning face off in the Third Place Game. The Racers ran away with the lead, before the Lightning would mount a comeback capped by a three run home run by La Joya Palmview’s Christian Perez to give the Lightning the win 7-5.


Now for the main event, the Barracudas faced off against the Breeze in a Coastal Bend bragging rights matchup. Errors played a key factor with the Barracudas as the Breeze would take a big lead 9-1. An explosive bottom of the third inning which was propelled by exceptional hitting forced an eight run comeback to tie the game up. The Barracuda’s rally fueled the rest of the game as The Barracudas held on to win 14-9.


Truly a fun two days of baseball, Showcasing the best baseball players from across South Texas.