Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
MELROSE — Sophomore Dathan Yeary pitched a five-inning no-hitter, striking out 15, and went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and two runs scored as the Melrose baseball team defeated Floyd 19-1 on Monday in a game shortened to 4 1/2 innings by the 10-run rule.
The Buffaloes, who tallied 13 runs in the bottom of the first, improved to 2-2 while it was the first outing of the season for the Broncos. Senior Brandon Garcia scored three times and finished 3-for-3 for the Buffs.
Melrose will take on Magdalena in a 2 p.m. neutral-field doubleheader set for Friday at Estancia. The next outing for the Broncos in also on Friday in a 2 p.m. twin bill at Grady.
In another game on Monday, Grady and Dora played to an 8-8 tie at Grady in a game called after six innings due to snow and rain in the season opener for both sides. The teams will try to finish the game at some point during the season, Grady coach Jared Piepkorn said.
Sophomore Cache Skelley led off the game with a home run for the Coyotes, but the Bronchos came back with four in the bottom half. They carried a 7-5 lead into the sixth before Dora pushed in front with three runs, only to see Grady get the equalizer in the bottom half.
Skelley, junior Jaeden Hays and senior Lane Faver all went 2-for-3 for the Coyotes. Skelley pitched the first three innings for Dora, striking out five, while freshman Jax Piepkorn tossed the first five innings for Grady.
In weekend baseball tournaments:
Melrose — The Buffaloes were sixth in a season-opening, eight-team tournament hosted by Dexter. After losing to Tularosa in Thursday’s quarterfinals, Melrose came back to beat the host Demons 15-8 on Friday before falling to Capitan 10-7 in Saturday’s fifth-place contest.
Against Dexter, Yeary pitched three innings for the win and also delivered 3-for-4 at the plate with three runs scored and three RBIs. The Buffs broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth, scoring 11 times for a 15-3 cushion.
Sophomore Michael Cardonita was also 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored for Melrose, while senior Brody McAlister chipped in 2-for-3.
In Saturday’s tilt, a six-run third put Melrose in front 6-2, but the Tigers (3-1) countered with eight in the top of the fourth in a game shortened to five innings by a two-hour time limit. Cardonita hit a two-run triple in the third and finished 2-for-3 for Melrose.
Texico — The Wolverines, who lost to Gateway Christian in Thursday’s quarterfinals, dropped a 9-8 heartbreaker to Hatch Valley in Friday’s consolation semifinals before outscoring Jal 23-15 on Saturday to claim seventh place.
Senior Jonathan Harrell doubled three times and walked in five plate appearances, scoring four runs and driving in four. Sophomore Kyle Gonser went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and four runs scored against the Panthers (0-3), while sophomore Easton Cooper also finished 3-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and three runs and junior Bryson Crow reached base four times, including a triple, and scored four runs.
On Friday, Hatch (1-5) erased a 7-6 deficit with three in the top of the seventh and held on. Cooper led the Wolverines, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
Next up for the Wolverines (1-2) is New Mexico Military’s Colt Classic. Texico faces Shiprock in a 1 p.m. quarterfinal tilt on Thursday.
In area softball over the weekend:
Dora — The Lady Coyotes bounced back from a first-round loss and won twice to finish fifth in a season-opening tournament at Santa Rosa.
Dora defeated Tucumcari 15-12 on Friday and blanked Clayton 15-0 in four innings on Saturday.
The Lady Coyotes led Tucumcari 12-2 after four and held off a belated Lady Rattlers comeback bid. Sophomore Breanna Rodriguez went 4-for-4 with a double and four runs scored for Dora while junior Jenna Ramirez doubled and tripled in five at-bats and scored once.
Against Clayton (0-4), the Lady Coyotes put together five-run innings in the first, second and fourth to end it on the 15-run rule, which goes into effect after three innings. Freshman Justice Deason went 3-for-4 with triple and two runs scored while senior Anisten Tapia doubled and went 2-for-4 with a run scored and sophomore Faith Jasso doubled and finished 2-for-3.
Dora’s next outing is a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Friday at Logan.
