Clovis baseball team falls in district opener

CARLSBAD — Tuesday’s District 4-5A opener for Carlsbad and Clovis seemed like three baseball games rolled into one.

Carlsbad won the seven-inning game 15-5 at Clovis’ Bell Park, notching its first district win in the process. But, within that victory seemed to be a trio of mini-games playing out separately. The first stage saw Carlsbad go up 8-0, seemingly on its way to a lopsided win. Clovis won the second stage 5-0, marching steadily along the middle-inning comeback trail and shaving Carlsbad’s lead to just three.

Then came the final stage, in which the Cavemen got their bats working again and scored seven unanswered runs to win by 10 after all.

It only counts as one game, but it certainly played out like three, thanks to those momentum shifts.

“Early, we didn’t have good quality at-bats, and then came alive with some quality at-bats, put something together, got back in the game,” Clovis head coach Richard Cruce said. “But (the Cavemen) hit the ball, we walked some people late in the ball game and made a few mistakes which gave up some runs late in the ball game. I don’t think the 15-5 score was indicative of what the game was really like.”

“They didn’t quit when they were down 8-0,” Carlsbad head coach Alan Edmonson said of the Wildcats. “That’s a good testament to Coach Cruce and what he does over there. They could’ve folded early, but they tried to make it a ballgame.”

Carlsbad jumped out quickly, plating two in the top of the first inning. After Jonah Matthews worked the count full against Clovis starter Matthew Rubio, he drew ball four. Next up was Trey Castaneda, who ripped a two-strike pitch for a triple that scored Matthews with the game’s first run.

The throw in sailed past third base, allowing Castaneda to score and give Carlsbad a 2-0 advantage.

The Cavemen pieced together a big two-out rally in the top of the second inning, thanks to consecutive RBI singles by Matthews and Castaneda, followed by a two-run homer from Mason Estrada that stretched Carlsbad’s lead to 6-0.

In the top of the third inning, Carlsbad had runners on second and third when Castaneda reached on a Clovis outfield error, allowing both runs to score and make it an 8-0 game.

Clovis got three back in the bottom of the third, the first two coming in when Norbert Archibeque swatted a two-run double to left. Archibeque wound up scoring on a single by Trevon Dickson, bringing Clovis within 8-3.

The Wildcats’ Jeremiah Lucero scored on a balk in the bottom of the fourth inning, making it 8-4. And in the bottom of the fifth, it was Clovis’ turn to put together a two-out rally, getting three consecutive hits from Dickson, Zayvier Hartman and Kaleb Young, which sliced Carlsbad’s lead to 8-5.

With Lucero up and Hartman at third base, it seemed like Clovis might get even closer. But Carlsbad reliever Tate Collins induced a popout from Lucero, ending the threat.

And that’s when the tide turned back in Carlsbad’s favor. Estrada singled to lead off the top of the sixth inning, and Rio Granger followed with a homer over the fence in right-center, handing the Cavemen a 10-5 lead. Later in the inning, Carlsbad scored on a balk to take a six-run lead.

Collins’ pitching thwarted Clovis in the bottom halves of the late innings. He fanned the sixth-inning side and sent the Wildcats down 1-2-3 in the seventh, two by strikeout, as he finished the game by whiffing five of the last six batters and retiring seven straight from the fifth inning on. In the top of the seventh, Carlsbad padded its lead with five runs and cruised to the district-opening victory behind a 17-hit attack.

“We’re off to a good start,” Edmonson said. “We scored a lot of runs tonight, hit the ball really well. Even the outs were balls that were hit really well, hit really hard. So I’m pleased with the offensive performance.”

More of the same

The beat went on, and not in a good way for the Wildcats this past Thursday, when they visited Carlsbad for a doubleheader and were swept, 15-5 and 9-0.

Clovis (7-13) returns to action this coming Thursday, with a home game against Hobbs. First pitch at Bell Park is slated for 5 p.m.

Following this Thursday’s game, Clovis isn’t home again until hosting Roswell for a May 3 doubleheader. The Wildcats will visit Hobbs this Friday, with a twinbill that also begins at 5 p.m. They play at Roswell on May 2 before concluding the regular-season at Bell Park a day later.