Wolverines seeking another title

PECOS — After a year of waiting due to coronavirus, Texico’s baseball team is ready to resume its hunt of another state championship.

Texico expected to be the top seed in the eight-team Class 2A event, which begins Tuesday and Wednesday with home games for the higher seeds and culminates with the state title clash on Friday at the University of New Mexico’s Lobo Field in Albuquerque.

After Thursday’s 16-0 road drubbing of District 6-2A foe Pecos, the Wolverines (17-1, 9-0 district) had a Saturday date at Class 3A New Mexico Military in Roswell before finding out the 2A bracket on Saturday night.

“There’s a pretty good chance,” coach Ty Thatcher said of the possibility of a top seed for his squad. “I think we’re in good position.”

Texico won Class 3A titles from 2016-18, when Classes 1-2A were combined, then took the 2019 crown in 2A with a 13-3 rout of Estancia in the finals. Almost all of the spring sports schedule in 2020 was wiped out by the pandemic.

This season, Eunice has been the toughest test for the Wolverines, especially in 2A. The Cardinals (13-4) handed Texico its only loss 10-7 at Eunice on Memorial Day, ending the Wolverines’ 15-game winning streak.

Texico, though, posted a 13-2, 6-5 sweep over Eunice at home last week and entered Saturday’s contest at NMMI with 25 wins in its last 26 games dating to a loss to Eunice in 2019.

It’s likely the teams will meet again next week, and entirely possible it would be in the finals.

Other schools which could have a say are Rehoboth Christian (12-1), McCurdy (14-1) and Texico’s district rival, Santa Rosa (11-4). But McCurdy is coming off a 19-11 loss on Thursday at Santa Rosa, and three of the Lions’ setbacks were to Texico by a combined score of 38-7.

Thatcher isn’t about to count his chickens early, saying that anything can happen.

“Rehoboth feels like they’re pretty good,” Thatcher said. “They won state basketball and they’re feeling pretty good about themselves.

“I like our odds, but it’s tough sometimes to string it together.”