Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
PORTALES - The Portales Rams, knowing they were on the softball playoff bubble, played a tight first game and more relaxed in the second.
On the hill, however, Wendy Baeza was consistently good - good enough to hold Goddard to two runs on six hits in a 2-1, 14-1 doubleheader sweep Friday night at Wheeler Park.
Portales (14-12, 5-7) finished third in District 4-4A, and expects to receive one of Class 4A's 16 seeds in Sunday's selection meeting. The top eight seeds will host single-elimination first-round games this weekend, and the eight teams to survive the first round will enter a double-elimination bracket next week in Rio Rancho.
"I really think 9 or 10 is where we'll be seeded," Portales coach Nathan Dodge said. "Whoever we're matched up against, I think it's going to be a good game. As long as we don't have nerves, we should have a close game."
The first game saw the Ram offense struggle, but put together just enough offense for the victory. Junior second baseman Abi Cameron drove in both runs for Portales, with a sacrifice fly in hte third inning to plate Vanessa Villanueva and a fifth-inning double to bring in Nicole Laurenz.
"I think we pressed that first game," Dodge said. "We didn't have very many stirkeouts (three). We were just rolling over the ball. I think in the second game, we relaxed and hit the ball a lot better."
Baeza was up to the task, despite surrendering an early 1-0 lead in a third inning with two hits and a walk. Goddard only had one other baserunner on the game, and Baeza finished the game with 13 strikeouts.
The Rams jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the nightcap, putting up three-spots in each of the first two innings. The Rockets scored their lone run in the third, and Portales answered with eight in the fourth before Baeza retired the Rockets in the fifth for the mercy-rule win.
Baeza scattered five hits during her five innings of work, with a pair of walks and nine strikeouts.
Cameron led the 17-hit attack for Portales, going 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Four other Rams - Marijlee Ruiz, Micaela Garcia, Teagan Faust and Mia Molina - had two hits each.
Goddard's season ended at 3-23 with a 16-game losing skid that included all 12 District 4-4A contests.