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Prep baseball: Clovis tops Piedra Vista to move to 6-2

RIO RANCHO — A patient Clovis offense struck with three runs in the fifth inning, and senior Connor Langrell outdueled Division I-commit Chase Silseth as the Wildcats took a 4-3 victory over Piedra Vista to close out the Cleveland Invitational.

Senior Jace Piepkorn went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Clovis (6-2), which rallied after an opening loss to the host Storm to take its final two games.

"Any time you go 2-1 against the competition we faced, it makes you feel pretty good about what you're doing," Clovis coach Richard Cruce said. "The kids are buying into the process. We're trying to win every weekend."

Clovis fell behind 2-0 early, as the University of Tennessee-bound Silseth was stingy.

"Chase was dominant early," Cruce said. "We just didn't give up at-bats late in the game and started to put pressure on him."

The Wildcats opened the fifth with three consecutive hits — a Connor Langrell double, a Piepkorn RBI-single and an RBI-double from junior Garrett Langrell.

"Connor didn't have his best stuff, but he got better all day and gave us a chance to win," Cruce said.

Langrell threw 6 1/3 innings, surrendering six hits. He walked two, hit four batters and struck out 12. He improved to 3-0 this spring.

Junior Anthony Montoya ran into trouble in relief in the seventh inning, allowing a run on a wild pitch en route to walking one batter. Cruce quickly went to Garrett Langrell, who got the save after coming in with one out and runners at the corners. He recorded a strikeout and a lineout to end the game.

The Wildcats resume the season Tuesday at Portales, which is making its season debut. Cruce said senior Sebastian Nunez is likely to get the start.

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