Wolverines sweep Eunice

TEXICO - After taking an inadvertent shot from teammate Seth Griego while chasing a pop-foul bunt, all Texico catcher Freddy Davalos needed was a little recovery time.

Davalos suffered a bloodied nose when he collided on the play with Griego, who was playing first base, but after coming out for part of an inning he returned and eventually earned a save as the four-time Class 2A state champion Wolverines edged Eunice 6-5 in a battle of 2A's top two teams.

That gave top-ranked Texico (15-1) a sweep of the twin bill after the Wolverines run-ruled the No. 2 Cardinals 13-2 in the opener.

Davalos seemed no worse for wear afterwards.

"I just got a little beat up, but I was able to come back in," he said.

He switched positions with his cousin, David Davalos, with two out and one on in the fifth and retired seven of the final 10 hitters.

Texico coach Ty Thatcher, who celebrated his 53rd birthday on Monday, was worried at first that the injury might be a little more serious.

"He's a tough kid," Thatcher said. "He's a big part of the puzzle for us."

Texico built a 6-2 lead with a four-run third, but the Cardinals - who handed the Wolverines their only loss 10-7 at Eunice on Memorial Day - came right back with three in the fourth.

"These (types of) games are necessary to be prepared for state," Freddy Davalos said. "To beat every team by a lot, it's no competition."

Eunice (13-4) outhit Texico 7-5, but the Cardinals stranded nine baserunners.

In the opener, the Wolverines took the lead with a six-run first, including a pair of sacrifice flies, then put it out of reach with seven more in the fourth inning. Leadoff man Gabe Bailey went 2-for-2 en route to a 4-for-6 day overall, while Texico took full advantage of six walks, five hit batsmen and five Eunice errors.

Griego went the distance on the mound, allowing four singles with one walk and four strikeouts. The senior left-hander also picked off two Cardinals runners.

The Wolverines played at District 6-2A foe Clayton on Tuesday, then finish the regular campaign with single games at Pecos on Thursday and at New Mexico Military on Saturday. They are in line for two home games in next week's eight-team state tournament, with the finals set for Albuquerque on June 25.

"With five or six (pitchers), I think we're deeper than a lot of teams," Thatcher said. "But it would be nice to get to the finals with some pitching left."

Texico 10, Estancia 0 (Saturday) - At Texico, the Wolverines scored three runs each in the second through fourth innings to pull away from the Bears (3-4) in a game ending after 4 1/2 innings on the 10-run rule.

Junior Brayden Bender drove in three runs with a single and a double for Texico, while Bailey and senior Logan Bowman each finished with two hits and an RBI.

Senior Josh Myers struck out four and allowed three hits over 4 1/3 innings before Freddy Davalos got the final two outs.

Elida drops final two games - The Tigers ended their season with a wild 18-16 setback to Roosevelt County and District 2-1A rival Dora on Friday and a 15-2 district loss on Monday to Gateway Christian 15-2, both at home.

In Monday's clash, Elida (2-8. 1-4 district) trailed just 1-0 before the Warriors (9-4, 6-0) scored nine runs in the third and five more in the fourth. The game ended in five innings on the run rule.

Eighth-grader Alex Sanchez went 3-for-3 and senior Brandon Pirtle was 2-for-3 for Gateway, which collected eight hits. Junior Hurley Breedyk threw a four-hitter and had a shutout until the fifth when the Tigers broke through on a single by sophomore Ryon Howell, a run-scoring triple by sophomore Eli Victor and an RBI single by eighth-grader Hardy Fraze.

On Friday, the Coyotes (1-9, 1-4) scored nine runs in the top of the first, then added seven in the sixth and held on late to win a marathon from the Tigers. Sophomore Bryson Paxton got the win for Dora, striking out nine in 4 1/3 innings, and also led the Coyotes on offense with a 4-for-5 outing that included a triple, four RBIs and two runs scored.

Howell went 2-for-3 with a pair of run-scoring singles for the Tigers, while senior Alex Castro finished 2-for-2 with a two-run triple and two runs scored.