Rams turn tables in win

TEXICO - There weren't exactly any nailbiters, but Portales High's baseball team is hopeful that winning two out of three over the weekend in a three-team get-together will give the Rams some momentum heading into this week's start of District 4-4A play with three games against Artesia.

Portales on Saturday turned the tables on Cobre, run-ruling the Indians 15-4 after losing to them 16-6 in five the day before. In their opener on Friday, PHS handed Texico a 13-3 setback in six innings, while Cobre blanked the Wolverines 10-0 in five in Saturday's lidlifter.

The Rams (8-9) took control of Saturday's tilt with an eight-run second, and junior right-hander Miguel Gomez finished it with three innings in relief.

"We just decided to play our game," said Rams sophomore center fielder Zane Mayberry, who singled, walked and scored twice. "We woke up (early on Saturday) and got some BP (batting practice) in, and that helped a lot."

Sophomore leadoff hitter Andru Ontiveros went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored for the Rams, while first baseman Travin Price knocked in three runs with a pair of singles.

Leading 10-2, eighth-grader Carson Pfaffenberger struggled after the long second inning, failing to retire a batter in the third. With one run in and the bases loaded, Gomez got three consecutive pop-ups to avert further damage.

He then got three outs on three pitches in the fourth - all grounders to senior third baseman Isaac Herrera - before giving up a run in the fifth.

"He came in and closed the game for us," Mayberry said of Gomez. "He did the job for us."

Rams coach Ruben Tellez also saluted Gomez.

"Miguel did a good job of throwing strikes," he said. "Carson did what we wanted him to do. He's learning and growing with every game."

All but four of Portales' runs were unearned as the Indians (6-8) contributed five errors.

In Saturday's early game, the Wolverines (5-6) kept it close before unraveling with four errors in Cobre's six-run fourth, making it 9-0. All but four of the Indians' runs were earned.

"That fourth inning, we just lost our intensity," first-year Texico coach Todd Kuykendall said. "We didn't make the plays we needed to make."

Indians sophomore right-hander James Castanon starred on the mound and at the plate. He scattered six Wolverines singles over five innings while also going 3-for-4 and scoring three times. Castanon and senior left fielder Ian Rodriguez both delivered two-run singles in the fourth.

"I thought we played well at times and not so well at times," Indians coach Adrian Acosta said. "We've got to get used to how momentum changes quickly."

Acosta said his squad was happy to participate in the event after an eight-hour trip, and said it will help his team in its bid to reach the postseason in Class 3A.

Friday - Portales broke a 1-1 tie with a four-run third against the Wolverines. Sophomore Kaiden Gutierrez allowed four hits and just two unearned runs in 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Rams.

Senior Hagen Rains went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBIs for Portales. Texico finished with four hits, including two each for sophomores Kyle Gonser and Erik Davalos.

The Wolverines (5-6) have won the previous five Class 2A state championships, but graduated the bulk of last year's squad and are trying to put things together.

Eunice, which lost to Texico in last year's 2A finals, is off to a 12-1 start this season.

"They're definitely the team to beat right now; they're the standard we're trying to get to," Kuykendall said. "We needed to play teams like this."

Cobre scored at least three runs in all four turns at bat against PHS on Friday. The Indians pounded out 16 hits, led by Rodriguez with two singles, a double and a triple and five runs batted in.