Ram softball finishes 15-14

RIO RANCHO — The Portales Rams needed an upset of seventh-seeded Gallup to get into the double-elimination round of the Class 4A state softball tournament last week. They needed more offense than they had to stay there.

The Rams were ousted Thursday following a 17-0 loss to second-seeded Los Lunas and a 3-1 consolation-round defeat to Bernalillo. The losses ended Portales’ season at 15-14.

The Rams managed just two hits on the day, while the pitching staff had its own issues. Junior Wendy Baeza was pulled early in the first for reliever Adri Garcia.

“Overall, I think that first game was hard for us,” Portales coach Nathan Dodge said. “They kept calling (Baeza for an) illegal pitch. Wendy was feeling a lot of pressure, and they kept calling it. We’ve never had it called, except for one time in Hobbs.

“We played fine behind Adri, but it’s high emotions at that point. It was 3-0 right away because of the illegal pitch calls.”

The game was called after three due to the 15-run mercy rule. Garcia went 1-for-1 in her only plate appearance, while Marijlee Ruiz was 1-for-2.

In the consolation round game that followed at Cleveland High School, the Rams outhit the Spartans 10-7. But Bernalillo got a pair of runs in the third inning when a throw got by both the first baseman and the rightfielder backing up the play. The Spartans added an insurance run in the fourth.

Micaela Garcia was 1-for-3 and drove in Portales’ lone run on an RBI single. Abi Cameron and Nicole Laurenz both had two-hit games, with Laurenz 2-for-3 and Cameron 2-for-4.

District 4-4A champ Artesia, last year’s Class 5A champ, took the 4A crown by topping Silver 10-2 on Saturday.

“It was a tougher season,” Dodge said. “The competition got tougher in 4A. We got seeded 10th, but I was glad we made it up there to the (second round of the) state tournament.”

Dodge will not return for a third season, due to time conflicts with his position as assistant principal at the school. When he started his administrative position this season, Dodge gave up his position as boys soccer coach in the fall but was granted the opportunity to stay on as softball coach in the spring. He understood why Superintendent Johnnie Cain decided against continuing the dual roles going forward, and was thankful Cain gave him an opportunity to at least try it.

“I was glad they gave me another year,” Dodge said. “I really enjoyed this team, and I really enjoyed the seniors. We had a good group. Each one of them contributed in their own way.”