Alexander's battery of Ronaldo Lorenzo, Frankie Valdez form lethal duo

Posted Date: 04/16/2025

Over the course of his freshman baseball season, Alexander's Frankie Valdez has gotten used to his hand being sore when he's behind the plate for seven innings. 

"I had jammed fingers and a thumb," the freshman catcher said laughingly.

It's easy for his hand to be so sore when he's catching dozens of fastballs from Alexander's Ronaldo Lorenzo, who boasts a fastball that sits in the upper 80s to low 90s. Although Valdez is a freshman, he's behind the plate whenever Lorenzo is on the mound. 

"Certain guys catch for certain pitchers," Bulldogs coach Fernando Lemus said. "Franke goes with (Lorenzo) every time. We have a lot of trust in that kid. He's been doing a great job all year." 

And it's been working. Alexander sits at 18-6 overall and 9-1 in District 30-6A play after a two-game series sweep of Laredo foe LBJ. The second game in the series saw Lorenzo pitch six shutout innings in the win. 

It's been par for the course for Lorenzo, who is blossoming in his junior season as a core member of Alexander's starting rotation. The Bulldogs have the choice of Lorenzo, Andrew De Leon, Federico Hernandez and Julio Hernandez to throw at district foes. 

"We have three or four really good starters," Lorenzo said. "We have good closers. We can shut down other teams."

Lorenzo was confident in Alexander having one of the best pitching staffs in all of southern Texas. 

He might not be wrong either. Over the past five games, Alexander has allowed just two runs and is on a three-game streak of shutout wins.. In district action, the Bulldogs have outscored their competition 58-16 in 10 games. 

Lemus enjoys having so many options to throw at teams, especially when each guy wants to get one spot of the other.

"Every day in practice they get after it," he said. "They're competing against each other. It's great to have that on your roster. It pushes them to be better."

For Lorenzo, he has three district appearances. His first was a 9-4 win over Del Rio where he went four innings with five strikeouts. He allowed one earned run in the winning effort. He then pitched six innings and allowed just three hits and one earned run with six strikeouts in a 4-2 win over Eagle Pass that had major district implications at the time. 

His most recent start and win saw him quiet an LBJ offense that scored double-digit runs seven times this season. Lorenzo pitched six shutout innings.

What's been working for him? Easy. His fastball, and it's come at the expense of Valdez's hand. But the soreness has been worth it for Valdez, who said his experience this season will carry over to future seasons. 

Alexander will take a week off from district play and return with a two-game series against United.