Texico improves to 9-1

RATON — Texico’s baseball team had the bats, arms and gloves working well on Saturday at Raton, and the not-too-surprising result was a doubleheader sweep on the road that saw the Wolverines outscore the Tigers 31-1.

Both games lasted just five innings, with Texico taking the opener 12-0 and the second game 19-1.

The Wolverines (9-1) banged out 30 hits through the top halves of the 10 innings, while playing error-free ball in the bottom halves.

They also received outstanding pitching performances from Ben Crist, Luke Phipps and Robin Winton. Crist shone brightest, throwing a perfect game through 4 1/3 innings of the opener, before finally surrendering a double to Raton’s Cole Medina with one out in the bottom of the fifth.

Still, Crist finished with a one-hitter, striking out 11 in just five innings and walking none.

Phipps and Winton combined on a two-hitter in the second game. Phipps worked the first four innings, fanning seven, walking two and allowing just one hit. Winton threw the last inning, striking out two, walking one, while allowing the other hit and Raton’s lone run.

Nathan Phipps clubbed two-run homers in each game, with his second-game blast traveling 415 feet, the longest ever hit out at Raton High School.

In the opener, Dalton Thatcher was 3-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored. And Luke Phipps went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

Cole Rohrbach was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, and Crist went 2-for-4 with a run scored in that first game.

In addition to his historic two-run blast in the second game, Nathan Phipps also had an RBI double.

Thatcher was 3-for-5 with a double and four RBI in that game, making his overall line for the day 6-for-9 with three doubles and seven RBI.

Rohrbach went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored, and Crist was 2-for-2 with a walk in the second game.

All in all, it was well worth the four-hour bus ride to Raton.

“That team is sitting at No. 4 in the state,” Texico coach Ty Thatcher said. “Those are good wins on the road. Last year, that was the one 3A team that beat us at our place, 1-0. It was nice to come down and play well.”

The Wolverines won’t play again until next Saturday, when they open their district schedule with a road doubleheader at Clayton that begins at 1 p.m.