Hope Christian eliminates Portales in 4A semifinals

ALBUQUERQUE – The Portales baseball team jumped out to a great start against Hope Christian in Friday's Class 4A semifinal. And then ... oh boy.

At the University of New Mexico's Santa Ana Star Field, the Rams had lively bats in the top of the first inning, collecting three hits in their first four opportunities against Huskies starting pitcher Nikko Ruiz to take a two-run advantage.

By the end of the first inning, though, Hope Christian had the lead, and would never relinquish it. Portales only managed two more hits the rest of the game, while the Huskies pounded out 16 hits overall, and run-ruled their way to a 13-3 victory in six innings.

Top-seeded Hope (24-6) moves on to today's 4A championship game against Bernalillo. The fourth-seeded Rams finish the season 19-11.

"We did a good job in the first of getting on base like we're supposed to," Portales coach Dusty Nusser said. "And then, (Ruiz) kind of got in his groove and did a good job of settling in. We weren't able to muster anything together until there at the end a little bit."

What the Rams achieved in the first inning seemed to bode well for a championship-game berth. Jordan Garcia led off the game with a single, followed by a single from Josiah Lucero. An out later, Luciano Rodriguez ripped a line-drive single to left, knocking in a run while sending Lucero to third. Isaac Gomez then forced Rodriguez out at second base, but Lucero scored on the play and Portales was up 2-0.

Two runs on three hits. What a way to begin a state semifinal.

Ruiz, however, didn't get rattled.

"I give a lot of credit to Nikko. There were probably some nerves there," Hope Christian coach Glen Copeland said. "And the top of Portales' order is very scary. I've got a lot of respect for Garcia, Lucero and Rodriguez. They hit the ball well."

But so did Hope Christian, starting in the bottom of the first inning. Garcia, the Rams' starting pitcher, issued a leadoff walk to Evan Torres, then allowed a Coy Karler single. Kole Simmons' bunt forced Torres out at third base, but Simmons reached first safely, keeping runners on first and second.

Clean-up hitter Brandon Bagon then scorched a double to right field, scoring a run to slice Portales' lead in half. Simmons stopped at third, but wasn't there long. The next batter – Aidan McNichol – singled, scoring both runners to give Hope Christian a 3-2 lead.

Portales got something cooking in the top of the second, threatening to tie the game or even re-take the lead. With one out, Chandon Neece reached on an error, and Juan Espinoza then beat out an infield single to put runners on first and second. The runners advanced to second and third on a Garcia ground out, putting the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. But Lucero hit a come-backer to Ruiz, who threw to first for the 1-3 rally-ending putout.

Hope Christian added to its lead gradually at first, plating one run in the bottom of the third inning, another in the fourth. Portales was hanging in, but didn't threaten much offensively. The Rams were hitting the ball well to the outfield, but Hope Christian fielders were either right there or able to move where they needed to be to make the catches. One catch in particular was an ESPN-worthy dive by Jared Knowles in right field, robbing Lucero of a hit, probably extra bases. Worse yet for Portales, Knowles' catch was an inning-ender.

And worse still, Hope went on a tear in the bottom of the fifth, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring six runs to take a commanding 11-2 lead. The Huskies even had the game-winning run on first base, but stranded him there to give Portales a little more life.

The Rams tried to capitalize on it in the top of the sixth, as Joel Legarda led off with a double. Courtesy runner Jordan Monroe went to third base on a Rodriguez ground out, and scored on a wild pitch to make it 11-3. Hope Christian, however, got two more in the bottom of the sixth to close it out.

Ruiz was sharp after his early struggles, pitching a complete-game five-hitter. Portales, on the other hand, was forced to use four pitchers thanks to those 16 Huskie hits.

Portales finished as a 19-win state semifinalist, which would likely be considered a solid season by most. The Rams will get back at it next year with a new mix of players.

"This is my fifth year, our fifth year as a staff," Nusser said. "And our seniors were in our program as eighth-graders, so we're going to miss our seniors and their leadership. We have some guys that are going to have to step into some big shoes next year."