Memorial third baseman Paul Salazar reaches out to tag Flour Bluff's Trenton Bailey during the Memorial baseball tournament. The Vipers lost the game 10-2.
Originally published March 12, 2010 at 11:45 p.m., updated March 12, 2010 at 11:50 p.m.
Matt Longoria said he was looking for a win against San Antonio MacArthur on Friday night by any means necessary.
"If they hit 20 doubles off me or not, I'm looking to come out of this game with a win because that's what we need to get the boost to get to the next level at the tournament and the season," the junior pitcher said before the game.
Although he said he knew little about MacArthur, it didn't stop him from turning in a big game for the Vipers.
Along with retiring nine of the first 10 Brahmas he faced, Longoria knocked a long triple that fell just short of the 405-feet marker in center field at Riverside Stadium to bring in Memorial's first two runs of the game en route to a 12-2 win in five innings.
He finished the night 4-for-4 and hit for the cycle with four RBIs, while holding the Brahmas to two run on two hits and striking out six. He was buoyed by a seven-run fourth inning that was capped by a Jared Lewis grand slam to left.
He said he was sitting on his opposing pitcher's fastballs, he said, even after the Brahma's relievers started mixing it up after his second at-bat.
"They were coming straight at them, and I was looking for a fastball in my zone where I want it, and I would just try to swing level and hit a line drive somewhere," Longoria said.
Facing a new pitcher in the fifth inning, he said he was again waiting on a fastball when he completed his cycle with a home run to left-center field.
"They got behind again, and Coach Alvarado said to wait for my pitch and where I want it," Longoria said. "I wasn't going to swing if it was a changeup or a curveball, I was waiting for my fastball, and I just happened to get under it and hit a home run."
Vipers' coach Manuel Alvarado said Longoria, who pitches and plays third for Memorial, does a good job of hitting his spots and mixing up his pitches based on what is called from the dugout.
"He likes to compete, whether he's playing third or pitching," Alvarado said. "He won't back down from anybody, he's a tough kid and he wants the ball."
Longoria said he approaches batters looking to get ahead so he can throw what he wants rather than throwing what the opposing batter wants him to throw.
"I'm looking to get ahead on an inside fastball or an outside fastball, or maybe even a curveball to a big guy," he said.
Longoria said nerves have played a role for the Vipers in the early going, contributing to the team's now 5-9-1 start through Friday night.
"We practice like we're No. 1, and no one can touch us," Longoria said. "It's just, when everyone gets out on the field, everyone gets nervous instead of playing the game and having fun."
Longoria didn't play much as a sophomore, Alvarado said, but they are looking to use him more this season at third base and on the mound.
"He gives me everything I ask for and them some," Alvarado said.
Early struggles: Flour Bluff posted nine runs and sent 14 batters to the plate in the top of the third inning, burying Memorial in the early game 10-2 in six innings.
The Vipers struggled in the field and with the bats, getting just four hits and two runs in six innings before the game ended, and committed six errors, at least three during Flour Bluff's third-inning rally.
VISD Tournament
Memorial 12, S.A. MacArthur 2 (5)
MAC 000 02 - 2 2 1
MEM 300 72 - 12 12 1
Matt Longoria to Ryan Stuart. Gonzalez, Espinoza (4), Saenz (5). WP - Longoria, LP - Gonzalez. Highlights: Matt Longoria 4-for-4, 2B, 3B, HR, 4 RBI; Matt Longoria, 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 6 SO; Jared Lewis 2-for-3, GS, 5 RBI.
Flour Bluff 10, Memorial 2 (6)
FB 109 000 - 10 13 2
MEM 011 000 - 2 4 6
Miles Manning, Phillip Barron (3) and Jake Goyen. B. Mendiola and Decker. WP - B. Mendiola, LP - Manning. Highlights: (M) Manning RBI.
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