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Lady Rams capture tourney crown

DEXTER – Portales High’s softball team struck early and often on Saturday night, and the Lady Rams completed a run to the championship with a 9-2 victory over Dexter in the finals of the eight-team Lindsey Calloway Invite.

Senior Abby Marquez went 2-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs, and tossed a six-hitter in the circle with eight strikeouts. She broke the game open with a three-run homer in the second to put the Lady Rams (6-4) up 4-0, then added a two-run shot in the sixth for an 8-0 lead before the Lady Demons (4-4) broke through with single tallies in the final two frames.

“The girls were ready to play,” Lady Rams coach Amanda Bonner said. “We just went out and played like we did the (first) two days.”

Meantime, Clovis High dropped an 11-7 decision to Capitan in the fifth-place matchup.

Senior Cyria Aguirre went 3-for-4 while senior Emma Long and sophomore Angel Ornelas were both 2-for-4 for PHS. Long, senior Kenzee Rowland and sophomore Myleigh Banda all had doubles while junior Bailey Hinderliter contributed a triple in Portales’ 12-hit attack.

Eighth-grader Danyela Munoz singled, doubled and walked in four plate appearances for Dexter.

Portales returns to action on Friday with a 5 p.m. single game at Roswell High.

In the fifth-place tilt, Capitan (3-1) scored eight times in the bottom of the first and held on late against the Lady Wildcats.

Sophomore Julianna Kennedy went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored for the Lady Tigers (3-2), while freshman Faith Roper was also 2-for-4 and scored twice.

“That big first inning killed us,” Clovis coach Johnny Saiz said. “We made some adjustments, but it was just too little, too late.

“We hit well, but we left too many people on base.”

Freshman Madysen Cushing went 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored for the Lady Cats (3-8). Senior Marisa Lopez and junior Giselle Romero were both 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, with Romero hitting a double, while senior Shalanda Lefevre hit a home run in the seventh.

Clovis’ next outing comes in a 4:30 p.m. doubleheader at Roswell Goddard on Thursday.

Rams claim fifth place – Sophomore Elijah Tellez drove in five runs, and the PHS baseball squad rallied from an early three-run deficit to beat Pojoaque 7-3 on Saturday in the fifth-place game of an eight-team tournament hosted by Moriarty.

Portales (5-3) tied the score 3-3 with a three-run fifth, keyed by a two-run double from Tellez. He then added a three-run double to cap a four-run sixth.

Junior left-hander Edel Legarda allowed three hits over 4 2/3 innings while freshman southpaw Carson Pfaffenberger finished for the win, giving up one hit. They combined to strike out nine.

The Rams were to return to action with a single game at Roswell High on Tuesday night. They visit Bell Park to take on Clovis High in a 5 p.m. start on Friday.

Cats tie for fifth in Amarillo Relays – Senior R.J. Nora and sophomore Sammy Fuentes had big meets to lift the Clovis High boys track team to a fifth-place finish in the Amarillo Relays, held on Friday and Saturday at Dick Bivins Stadium.

The Wildcats tied with Canyon Randall and Dumas with 48 points each in the 17-team competition. Canyon High won the event with 98 points, three more than Lubbock Cooper, while Amarillo High was third at 86.

“One of the reasons we would go to this meet was to expose the kids to some real competition,” CHS boys track coach Mark Sena said. “The boys performed the best they have all year.”

Nora posted wins in triple jump (45 feet, 6 ½ inches) and long jump (21-7) and also place second in the 110 hurdles in 14.92 seconds.

“R.J. won on his final jump in both (jumping events),” Sena said. “I was very pleased with how he responded.”

Meantime, Fuentes was second in Friday’s 3,200 (9:54.37) and Saturday’s 1,600 (4:31.10). Senior Brayden Golden accounted for the Cats’ other points, taking fourth in shot put at 47-3 to exceed his previous best by about three feet.

“I’m so happy for him,” Sena said of Golden. “He managed to let one loose.”

Clovis’ boys and girls squads, along with Portales, are back in action on Friday at Hobbs in the Gene Wells Relays.

Lady Rams top Moriarty – The Portales High girls tennis team captured its second dual victory of the season on Monday, defeating Moriarty 6-3 at Jerry Cline Tennis Center in Albuquerque.

The Lady Rams took four of the six singles matches and went 2-1 in doubles against the Lady Pintos.

The result included wins in third-set supertiebreakers by senior Jenna Brown at No. 2 singles and by junior Lorena Fernandez and freshman Belia Lopez at No. 2 doubles.

Meantime, Portales’ boys – with just four players on the squad – absorbed a 9-0 setback at the hands of Moriarty.

“Our kids battled,” PHS tennis coach David Sweet said. “We have a very young team (with) only one senior on the boys’ side and one on the girls’ side.”

The Rams and Lady Rams return to action on Thursday with their first District 4-4A duals of the campaign at Artesia.