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Rams top Lovington, 6-3

STAFF WRITER

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After putting up 32 runs against NMMI on Tuesday, the Portales Rams offense was limited against their rival Lovington on Thursday but did enough to come away with a 6-3 win.

Senior Grant Wagner pitched his way through the first inning without any problem, but in the second inning, AJ Ochoa took a Wagner fastball to the outfield, scoring one run. The problem for Portales was that Wagner tried to throw out the runner advancing to third but threw it over his teammate’s head, giving Lovington another run.

“Anytime you leave the ball up, the batters are going to make solid contact,” Wagner said. “I was really out of sync with my lower half in the second (inning), but I got it back in control in the third.”

Staff photo: Matthew Asher

Sophomore Juan Espanoza runs to third base as Lovington players rush to field his pop-up during Thursday’sgame at Ram Field. The ball was dropped and Espanoza scored on the next play, helping Portales post a 6-3 victory.

Wagner would have the chance to redeem himself in the third inning. With the bases loaded and Portales now trailing 2-1, Wagner hit a base-clearing triple, his only hit of the game, to give the Rams a lead they would never relinquish.

Lovington (3-11) had a chance to avoid the costly four-run third with an infield pop-up that nobody caught. Portales (6-6) had two outs in the inning so the infield fly rule was not in effect.

“We’re young and we do young stuff,” Lovington coach Robert Riggins said regarding the missed play. “We have two freshmen and two sophomores on the field and we do stuff like that.”

Staff photo: Matthew Asher

Senior Draven Saiz slides into third base trying to beat a forceout. Saiz was out on the play, but he finished the game 2-for-2 in helping Portales win 6-3.

Wagner pitched through the sixth inning before Portales coach Dusty Nusser handed the ball over to senior Jacob Salgado who gave up one base hit before his team turned a 6-4-3 double-play to end the game for the Rams.

“Grant threw well,” Nusser said. “He got his pitch count a little high today but he did great today. That’s why we didn’t take him out until the seventh.”

In Wagner’s six innings of work he gave up three runs, two earned, off four hits while striking out six and walking two batters. He credited his defense for the solid day.

“The defense was fantastic today,” Wagner said. “We had a lot of double-plays. As a pitcher you love to see that. It was a whole team effort.”

The Rams hit the road today and resume District 4-4A play as they travel to East Mountain in a doubleheader. The first game is scheduled for 3 p.m.