Victoria Senior Leaguers embark on World Series journey

Published 5:15 am Friday, July 25, 2025

By Robert Brewer

Victoria shortstop Parker Baros believes the first-round bye this weekend's Senior World Series will be a huge advantage for his team. (Photo by Robert Brewer)

For the second straight year, the Victoria North East Senior League 16U All Stars baseball team has punched a ticket to the World Series. 

The Senior League World Series will be televised on ESPN and be played at the J.B. Red Owens Sports Complex in Easley, South Carolina. Tournament play will begin July 26 and will run through Aug. 2.

Representing the Southwest Region, Victoria has earned a first-round bye. Their first game of the double-elimination tournament is scheduled for Sunday, July 27 at 11 a.m. The opponent has yet to be determined.

In order to get to this point, Victoria has managed to go 12-0 in summer tournament play. This undefeated run includes championships in District 27 and Section 4, the Texas East State championship and the Southwest Regional crown. 

Victoria’s 16-man roster includes seven returning players from last year’s squad that went 1-2 in the World Series tournament before being eliminated. One of those players is starting pitcher Derrick Gaona. Most recently, Gaona pitched 6 ⅓ innings, allowing four hits while striking out five batters in Monday’s 5-0 Southwest Region championship victory over the American All-Stars.

Andrew Alvarado, a pitcher and third baseman for Victoria, is among the seven returning players. He contributed offensively with a pair of hits and a run batted in during Monday’s matchup. Alvarado noted the team’s experience playing together for many years as a key factor in the 12-0 tournament run.

  • Polls

    Will you attend a performance of Footloose performed by VIctoria Theatre either this weekend or next?

    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...

    • “A lot of us go to high school together. We’ve also played little league with each other when we were younger,” Alvarado said.   

    Another returning player from last year’s club, shortstop Parker Baros, has also been a key performer for Victoria. He picked up two hits and an RBI in the regional championship contest. Gaona, Alvarado, and Baros all attend Victoria East High and are heading into their junior seasons. 

    Baros is confident Victoria can make it deeper into the World Series tournament this time around.

    “I think we definitely can because we have more talent this year and we have experience. We learned a lot by losing last year. There was a lot of experience gained just off of that,” Baros stated. 

    Victoria’s first-round bye in the World Series tournament is a luxury they did not have a year ago. Baros believes this will be a huge advantage.

    “We can save a pitcher based off of just skipping one game. We can throw our first pitcher in the second game and the opponent is going to use their second pitcher. We’re going to be ahead on pitching in every game,” the shortstop added.

    When asked about how Victoria will match up against teams they are not very familiar with in the tournament, Baros remained unconcerned.

    “We’ll just play our best baseball and see what they can do about it. I think we’re better than everybody else, now we just have to prove that,” Baros said.

    Robert Brewer is a sports reporter for the Victoria Advocate. You can reach him at robert.brewer@vicad.com.

    You Might Like