Cats cruise past Rams

CLOVIS – Nathan McIntosh left the mound after the top of the first having escaped a bit of trouble.

When he returned to the hill for the second frame, he had the kind of lead that's hard to imagine.

Taking advantage of a gusty breeze and just putting the ball in play, Clovis High's baseball team put together a 17-run first inning and cruised past Portales High 18-0 on Friday night at Bell Park.

Despite the long time between innings, McIntosh was able to stay on track. He allowed only three singles with no walks and five strikeouts for his first high school shutout, giving the Wildcats (8-8) their seventh win in the last nine outings.

"You can always give up some runs," he said. "I just tried to stay focused."

He surrendered a first-pitch single to PHS leadoff man Andru Ontiveros, then permitted a two-out single by freshman Carson Pfaffenberger before getting his opposite number, junior Edel Legarda, on a fly ball to short left.

Starting with that out, McIntosh retired 12 hitters in a row and 13 of the last 14, allowing only a two-out bunt single by Rams junior Layton Faust in the fifth.

"I felt like I did pretty good," McIntosh said. "I was consistent. The wind was kind of tricky to deal with, but I was confident."

Suffice it to say, the wind was trickier for the Rams (5-6), who misplayed a couple of fly balls and had a heck of a time getting out of the first. CHS had 12 hits in the stanza, getting two-run doubles from sophomores Koby Rivera and Quinn Culiver and juniors Jashiah Mendoza and Eli Rodriguez, and a three-run double from junior Gabe Tapia.

Rivera, Culiver and all had two hits and three RBIs in the first inning, and the Rams contributed three hit batsmen and four errors.

"What was awesome is I don't think we pulled many balls," Cats coach Richard Cruce said. "I thought we had a great approach at the dish and played the game in a business-like fashion.

"We're growing as a group, and we've just got to continue to do that."

Portales, which lost to CHS 8-5 at Ram Field on March 21, was to host Texico in a doubleheader on Saturday, giving the Rams 11 games in a span of just 13 days.

"They put the ball in play and made things happen," PHS coach Ruben Tellez said of the Cats. "We dropped a few balls, and you can't give a team extra outs.

"We've struggled the past three games, and we've got to fix it quick. We've got to understand each of us has to do our part."

Junior right-hander Miguel Lopez relieved Legarda with two out in the first and got the Rams through the final three innings.

Clovis plays its final non-district game on Tuesday at Sandia. Meantime, the Rams are back at it with a doubleheader at Eunice the same night.

Roswell Goddard 17-3, Clovis 6-7 (Tuesday) – At Bell Park, the Cats rebounded to gain a doubleheader split, erasing a 2-0 deficit with a four-run first capped by a three-run homer from senior Jashias Jimenez.

"The guys are more relaxed," Cruce said. "They're just playing baseball, and it's fun to watch."

The Cats put the game away with three in the sixth, including a two-run double by eighth-grader Javi Jimenez.

Javi Jimenez went 3-for-4 and senior Joe Albert had two hits and knocked in a pair of runs for Clovis, which lost to the Rockets 3-2 in the finals of Goddard's Southwest Classic tournament on March 11.

Senior Jashiah Mendoza tossed a complete-game four-hitter, walking two and striking out four. Jashias Jimenez led the team's eight-hit attack, going 3-for-4.

In the opener, the Rockets (8-6) overcame a 2-0 deficit with two in the second and scored in each of the final six innings, including five in the fourth and four in the seventh. Goddard got two-run homers from juniors Michael Mathison in the third and Cinco Holloway in the fourth.

Roswell High 12-15, Portales 5-1 (Tuesday) – At Roswell, the Coyotes took command in the opener with a six-run third and cruised behind a 16-hit attack. Five players collected at least two hits for Roswell High, led by juniors Eli Lynn and Reeco Lujan with 3-for-4 outings and junior Isaac Loya with 3-for-5.

Sophomore Jacob Palomino and senior Ivan Miramontes combined on a run-rule-abbreviated three-hitter over five innings, with 12 total strikeouts.

Six players collected one hit apiece for PHS. Sophomore Elijah Tellez had a double and two RBIs, while junior Kaiden Gutierrez also had a double with a run scored and an RBI.

In Game 2, the Coyotes managed nine hits but wasted no time taking control with an eight-run first. Miramontes, who had a triple, and sophomore Abey Tescano were both 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs, and senior Sylvester Lomeli also contributed 2-for-3 at the plate.

Legarda was 1-for-2 and scored the only run for the Rams in the top of the second.