Cats end season with sweep

CLOVIS – It was most likely too little, too late, but if nothing else the Clovis High baseball team ended its regular season on a winning note.

Likely needing a series sweep to have a chance to make the 16-team Class 5A state tournament field, the Wildcats bounced back from Thursday's tough 3-2 loss at Roswell High to edge the Coyotes twice, 10-9 in eight innings and 4-3, on Friday night at Bell Park.

Friday's sweep also ended the Coyotes' chances of sneaking into the 5A field, scheduled to be announced today.

"It's always good to win your last two games at home and get some momentum going into the summer and into next season," Clovis coach Richard Cruce said.

The Cats (12-14, 3-6 district) erased a 3-0 deficit with a seven-run first in the opener, but didn't score again until the sixth when sophomore Koby Rivera's RBI single tied it. After the Coyotes pushed across a run in the first extra frame, CHS came back with two and won it on an RBI single by senior Jasiahs Jiminez.

Trailing 2-0 entering the bottom of the fourth in the nightcap, Clovis tied it on senior Jasiah Mendoza's two-run triple. The Cats added single runs in the fifth and sixth, the latter on Rivera's RBI single, and weathered a Coyotes bid in the seventh.

Junior right-hander Jayden Jameson went the distance, allowing six hits and one earned run with three walks and three strikeouts. He gave up an RBI single to sophomore Noah Lynn in the seventh, but got a groundout with the go-ahead runs on base to end it.

"Jayden pitched his tail off," Cruce said. "It's what we were looking for from him."

Clovis started 0-5 in district play before winning three of the last four, but Cruce said his team put itself in an early hole with a 1-6 start.

"Take away the first two weekends, or just win one or two of those games, and it would've helped," he said. "But from where we were at the beginning of the year, I'm proud of the way we came around and fought."

Eighth-grader Javi Jimenez led the Cats at the plate with four hits, including three in Game 1. Meantime, Lynn had a pair of two-hit outings for Roswell High.

Roswell High 3, Clovis 2 (Thursday) – At Roswell, senior Sylvester Lomeli hit a two-run homer in the second, then scored the deciding run in the bottom of the fifth to give the Coyotes the series opener.

Sophomore right-hander Jacob Palomino outdueled CHS junior Nathan McIntosh, allowing five hits and striking out 12 in a complete-game effort. McIntosh also went the distance for the Cats, surrendering just one earned run and five hits while whiffing seven.

"Nate pitched unbelievable," Cruce said. "We had the bases loaded in the third inning and we go strikeout, strikeout, then they manufactured a run in the fifth inning."

The Cats scored single runs in the first and fifth, but in the end couldn't overcome five errors.

Lomeli and senior Ivan Miramontes were both 2-for-3 for Roswell High, while Javi Jimenez also went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Cats.