Longhorns knock off Melrose

MELROSE - Coming off three games in the previous four days, including a big win on Saturday, the Melrose baseball team just couldn't find it on Monday against District 3-1A rival Logan.

Melrose sophomore Michael Cardonita issued eight walks, and the defending Class 1A champion Longhorns converted six of them into runs en route to an 11-1 victory over the Buffaloes, ending in five innings on the 10-run rule.

"We had trouble with walks, and they made us pay," first-year Buffs coach Lane Draper said. "And whenever we put the ball in play, it seemed to find a glove."

Cardonita walked the first three hitters, and all scored. Still, Melrose hung around until the fifth, when junior catcher Park Strong hit a two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded and first baseman Mason Wallin followed with a three-run home run.

Five of the runs were unearned, the result of three Buffs errors.

"We kind of jumped out that first inning," Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. "Our guys knew Melrose had been playing well. We hadn't played them in two years, so it's kind of hard to know what to expect."

Melrose (6-5, 2-1 district) swept a district twin bill from Cimarron on Thursday, then rallied for six in the bottom of the seventh to post a 13-12 victory on Saturday over Capitan, the No. 3 team in Class 2A.

Sophomore right-hander Kaeden Stoner tossed a four-hitter for the Longhorns (12-2, 3-0), ranked second in 1A. Melrose's lone run scored on a third-inning wild pitch.

"Stoner's our ace; he's our No. 1 guy," Griffiths said. "I shouldn't say we expected to be good (this year), but we had a lot of confidence we could win some games."

Wallin, an eighth-grader, finished 3-for-4 and drove in six runs. Only two of Logan's 23 players are seniors, and neither played on Monday.

"The Stoner kid is good," Draper said. "He's one of the best pitchers, if not the best, we've seen this year.

"They had some kids that hit the ball well, but we don't normally get beat because of hits. We get beat because of walks."

The teams meet in a district twin bill at Logan on April 29. The three district winners and one wild card advance to the four-team state meet May 13-14 in Rio Rancho and Albuquerque.

In Saturday's game, the Buffs fell behind 7-0 in the third, pulled to 8-7 after six, then surrendered four runs in the top of the seventh before rallying on a solo home run by senior Brody McAlister, a game-tying grand slam by Yeary and a walkoff walk to freshman Josiah Roybal on a 3-2 pitch.

Yeary went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBI, also scoring three times, while McAlister was 2-for-4 and drove in two.

Capitan (11-5) came into the contest as the third-ranked team in Class 2A.

Also on Monday:

Cimarron 18, Grady 7 - In District 3-1A, the host Bluejays broke away from a 5-5 tie with seven runs in the third, then added six in the fourth and ended it after 4 1/2 on the run rule.

The Bronchos (7-3-1, 0-3) had six hits in the game, led by freshman Jayce Garrett with 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, while freshman Jax Piepkorn hit a double. Grady left the bases loaded twice, and two men in scoring position in two other frames.

In Friday area baseball:

Dora 16-16, Floyd 10-4 - In District 2-1A at Floyd, the visiting Coyotes scored in every inning of both games except the fifth in Game 2. The latter tilt was shortened to five innings by the 10-run rule.

The Broncos (0-9, 0-4 district) opened a 9-6 lead through three innings of the opener and led 10-8 before the Coyotes (3-4-1, 3-1) scored six in the top of the sixth.

Senior Cache Skelley went 4-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and three runs scored for Dora, while junior Lane Favor and freshmen Ashton Davis and Roddy Neal all had three knocks and combined for seven RBIs - four by Davis - and six runs scored.

Junior Keagan Rodriguez claimed the win in relief, tossing the final 5 1/3 innings and allowing just two hits and two unearned runs.

In Game 2, the Coyotes had back-to-back five-run rounds in the third and fourth. Davis led a 17-hit attack by going 4-for-4, scoring twice and knocking in three. Juniors Jaeden Hays and Bryson Paxton were both 3-for-4, with Hays driving in three and Paxton collecting a pair of doubles and scoring three times.

Skelley pitched a complete-game win for Dora, allowing three hits with six strikeouts. All four Broncos runs were unearned.

In Friday area softball:

Jal 9, Dora 5 - In a District 4-1/2A tilt at Dora, the Lady Panthers broke a 3-3 tie by scoring six runs in the top of the sixth.

Sophomore Faith Jasso went 2-for-3 for the Lady Coyotes (8-6, 2-5), while freshman Anisten Tapia finished 2-for-4 with a two-run double in Dora's game-tying three-run fifth.