Wolverines roll to win over Pecos

TEXICO — Texico kept its hopes of a first-round Class 2A state tournament home game alive on Thursday with a 13-3 thumping of Pecos in a District 6-2A matchup.

The Wolverines (11-10, 7-2 district) score in every inning of a contest called in the bottom of the sixth due to the 10-run rule. Ranked eighth in 2A this week by MaxPreps, Texico would get a home game next Wednesday against the ninth seed if that were to hold up.

Quarterfinals, semifinals and finals in 2A are slated for Albuquerque and Rio Rancho from May 12-14.

Sophomore Kyle Gonser went three innings for the win, and sophomore Tristan Lucero worked the final three for a save. Texico broke the game open with a five-run fourth for a 10-2 advantage.

Gonser went 3-for-5 at the plate and scored twice, while Lucero and sophomore Erik Davalos were both 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Lucero hit a solo homer in the first and added a double, scoring twice, while Lucero doubled, tripled and scored a run.

Texico finishes the regular season with an 11 a.m. home twin bill against Class 3A third-ranked New Mexico Military (18-6) on Saturday.

In other area baseball on Thursday:

Dora 12-3, Elida 4-9 — In District 2-1A at Dora, the Tigers and Coyotes came into the games tied for second place behind Gateway Christian, and they left tied for second.

Dora (4-7-1, 4-4 district) scored five runs in the first inning of Game 1, then salted it away with a four-run sixth. Freshman Anton Davis was 2-for-4 and scored three times for Dora while senior Cache Skelley had a triple, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Skelley also went five innings on the mound for the Coyotes, allowing three hits and three runs (all unearned) with seven strikeouts.

In the nightcap, Elida (4-7, 4-4) took a 5-0 lead in the second inning and never looked back in a game called due to darkness after six frames. Sophomore Cole Kirchner was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored for Dora.

In another District 2-1A doubleheader, top-ranked Gateway Christian (13-4, 8-0) won twice at Floyd 19-5 and 14-0.

The Broncos (0-13, 0-8) were competitive in the opener until the Warriors, leading just 8-5, put the contest away with an 11-run sixth. That one ended after six on the 10-run rule.

In Game 2, shortened to five frames by the run rule, Gateway rolled behind a no-hit pitching effort from junior Hayden Wigley, who struck out 12.

In Wednesday area baseball:

Melrose 28, Cimarron 3 — In a neutral-field District 3-1A tilt played at Raton and shortened to five innings by the run rule, the third-ranked Buffaloes (8-6, 4-2) batted around twice in a 17-run fourth which made it 24-0.

Sophomore Michael Cardonita went 4-for-4 at the plate, scoring four runs and driving in another, and also allowed one hit over three innings to notch the pitching victory. Freshman Brian Larson was 3-for-3 with a double, scoring twice and knocking in one, while senior Brandon Garcia, sophomore Dathan Yeary and freshmen Josiah Roybal and Cy Draper all had a pair of hits and combined for three doubles, a triple, six runs batted in and nine scored.

In Monday action:

Eunice 12-10, Texico 2-0 — In a rematch of last year’s Class 2A finals won by Texico, the top-ranked host Cardinals pulled away after tight starts to improve to 20-1 for the season.

Texico got a two-run double from Lucero in the first inning of the opener. Eunice scored three in the bottom half, then ended it in five innings with five in the fourth and four in the fifth.

Easton Cooper went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored for the Wolverines, who finished with five hits.

In the nightcap, Texico got singles from Davalos and junior Bryson Crow. The Wolverines were within 1-0 until Eunice put together back-to-back two-run frames in the fourth and fifth and then erupted for five in the sixth to finish it.

Logan 19, Grady 3 — In District 3-1A at Logan, the second-ranked Longhorns (13-2, 4-0) blitzed the Bronchos with six in the first, five in the second and eight in the third. Sophomore Zane Rush and freshman Jayce Garrett had run-scoring singles for Grady (8-5-1, 1-5).

In softball matchups from the week:

Dora 10-3, Jal 8-9 (Monday) — In District 4-1/2A at Dora, the seventh-ranked Lady Coyotes (10-12, 4-6 district) scored four times in the bottom of the sixth for a 10-5 lead and held on in Game 1 against the Lady Panthers (9-8, 8-5), ranked third. Sophomore Jenna Ramirez was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while sophomore Faith Jasso finished 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs scored and an RBI and senior Anisten Tapia added a double in three at-bats, scoring one and driving in one.

Loving 16-21, Dora 0-3 (Wednesday) — In another district twin bill at Dora, the top-ranked Lady Falcons (17-5, 13-0) pounded the home team in both games, each ending in three on the 15-run rule.

Dora was held hitless in the opener, but tied Loving 3-3 after an inning in Game 2 as senior Katelyn Burnett singled home a pair of runs.