Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Cats grab first wins of season with rout, then walk-off
Clovis High softball coach Brandi Thomas encourages her players to finish off the first game of Saturday's District 2-6A doubleheader against Santa Fe High before they bat in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Lady Cats were up 8-0 at the time and ended it on the 10-run rule with two runs, their first win of the season. They also won the nightcap 6-5.
Marina Tapia gets a hold of a grounder up the middle and makes her way to touch second for an inning-ending force-out as Brooklyn Hatley backs up the play.
CLOVIS — Forgive Clovis High's Brandi Thomas for perhaps wondering if she'd ever get to 100 wins as the Lady Wildcats' softball coach.
Sitting at 99 after the 2014 campaign, Thomas was replaced after 10 seasons when the school decided to go another direction with the program. Then, rehired again this year, the Lady Cats struggled through 19 consecutive losses to start the season.
That's over now, though. Clovis not only broke the streak, the Lady Cats did so decisively with a 10-0, run-rule win over Santa Fe High on Saturday in the first game of a District 2-6A doubleheader at Lady Wildcat Field.
And Thomas is now perhaps on her way to 200 — CHS (2-19, 2-4 district) scored in the bottom of the seventh in the nightcap to edge the Demonettes 6-5 for a sweep.
"I know it's a big accomplishment in a career, but my lone focus is for the girls," said Thomas, herself a 1994 CHS grad. "They deserve this more than I do.
"I'm proud of my girls. The last couple of games we've been getting better, and we finally put it all together."
It has certainly been a tough year for a young squad. Recent one-run district losses at Manzano and to a solid Eldorado squad here had to be a bit frustrating.
The Lady Cats left no doubt in the opener, though, scoring five runs in the second — including a two-run single by junior shortstop Marina Tapia and a two-run double by sophomore first baseman Anyssa Casaus — for a 6-0 cushion.
Tapia led an 11-hit attack, going 4-for-4 and driving in four runs, while Casaus went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and reached base all four times up.
"It feels good," said junior pitcher Celeste Chavez, who shut out Santa Fe High (7-14, 0-6) on three singles. "We actually had fun today. After the first game, we were like, 'We can get the second one, too.'"
That came a little tougher, to say the least. The Demonettes finally broke through in the fifth inning, erasing a 1-0 deficit with three runs, and added two more in the sixth to regain a 5-4 advantage.
Chavez survived 12 Santa Fe High hits and six Clovis errors in the nightcap. Meantime, she went 3-for-4 at the plate with RBI triples in the fifth and sixth innings.
"Celeste hit her spots today," Thomas said of her work in the circle. "She's finally learning that when you start to feel the stress, you can just take a deep breath."
After Chavez tied the game with her second triple, the Lady Cats got the winning run in the seventh when catcher Brittni Chavez delivered a sacrifice fly to center.
Clovis has five regular-season games remaining. Four are in district play, beginning with a twinbill on Saturday at Sandia.
