Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
PORTALES — It wasn't a pretty affair, but the Lady Rams still managed to pull out the win over West Las Vegas Thursday afternoon during Game 1 of the team's doubleheader at Wheeler Park.
Lady Rams pitcher Wendy Baeza allowed only six hits and three earned runs while fanning 10 batters, but four Portales errors helped keep the contest interesting. Fortunately for the freshman pitcher, the Lady Rams put up six runs in the first inning, giving the team the cushion it needed in an 8-5 win over the Lady Dons.
The Lady Rams came back to complete the sweep, winning the second game 10-3.
Micaela Garcia's three-run homer and a two-run double by Devyn Lopez highlighted the Lady Rams' first-inning outburst, erasing a 2-0 deficit.
"It didn't seem like we were ready to play today and maybe a little bit of fatigue," said Portales coach Robbie Crowley. "I think it's good for the kids to be a little fatigued though and to work through that, to learn they are able to do that."
The Lady Rams (4-5) recorded seven hits, with Micaela Garcia and Devyn Lopez leading the way. Both went 1-for-3 on the day, but Garcia drove in three runs while Lopez scored two Lady Rams on the day.
While Portales played with the lead all but the first half inning, things got close at times with the Lady Dons (6-4) coming within one run after three innings. Single runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings would push Portales ahead by three, but West Las Vegas wasn't done threatening the score.
With two out in the seventh, the Lady Dons had runners at second and third with the tying run at the plate. But Baeza got the next hitter on a grounder to shortstop to end it.
While it's still early in the season, Crowley wants to see her team needs to start to put something together.
"You don't ever like to have a losing record," she said. "It feels good, feels good. We need to keep winning, though, and we need these wins today."