Cats rout Alamo in Goddard meet

ROSWELL – It didn’t take long for Clovis High’s baseball team to turn a pitchers duel into a rout on Thursday.

Locked in a scoreless tie with Alamogordo, the Wildcats erupted for eight runs in the top of the fourth and blistered the Tigers 11-0 in a quarterfinal game of Roswell Goddard’s Southwest Classic, ending the contest in five innings on the 10-run rule.

The Cats (5-3) advanced to a Friday semifinal match against the host Rockets (2-1), a 10-0 winner on Thursday over Ruidoso. Final-round games were slated for Saturday.

Clovis and Goddard played in last year’s tournament final, with the Rockets scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh to eke out a 3-2 win.

Junior Jax Piepkorn, a transfer from Grady, made his first start on the mound for the Cats after two relief appearances and worked a four-hit shutout against the Tigers (1-3), with no walks and four strikeouts.

“We knew he was going to start for us somewhere along the way,” CHS baseball coach Richard Cruse said. “We knew Jax was going to go out and throw strikes, and he did a good job of that.”

Meantime, the Cats made the most of seven hits off Alamo starter Gabriel Coyazo and reliever Kade Kiss. Seven players had one hit apiece.

CHS opened the fourth with a single and a walk, and an error on sacrifice bunt allowed the first run to score before Piepkorn made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly. Two more walks loaded the bases, and senior Quinn Culiver drew another free pass to force in a run.

Freshman Javier Jimenez added a two-run single, and senior Jasiah Mendoza finished off the big frame with a three-run triple.

The Cats loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, and Jimenez picked up his third RBI with a walk. Senior Koby Rivera was then hit by a pitch to force in a run, and senior Nathan McIntosh’s fielder’s choice grounder brought home the final tally.

After Saturday’s game, the Cats’ next outing is on Tuesday in a 5 p.m. tilt at Portales.