Cats hang on late to topple Sandia 13-11

ALBUQUERQUE – Things certainly have turned around in the past few weeks for Clovis High’s baseball team.

Since going 1-6 to begin the season, the Wildcats have won eight of their last 10, including a 13-11 triumph at Sandia on Tuesday, to climb above the .500 mark (9-8) for the first time this season.

CHS scored four runs in the second to tie the Matadors, then fell behind 7-4 before pulling even again at 7-7 with a three-run sixth. Then the Cats tallied six times in the top of the seventh, but had to hang on in the bottom half as junior Nathan McIntosh relieved starter Jayden Jameson and got the final two outs with the tying runs on base.

The teams battled windy and somewhat chilly conditions.

“On a day like today, it was tough out there,” Cats coach Richard Cruce said. “I felt our kids competed a little harder than their kids.”

Sophomore Koby Rivera went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs for Clovis, which outhit the Matadors 14-9. Junior Eli Rodriguez finished 2-for-6 and also knocked in three tallies while senior Joe Albert was 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.

Junior Bernie Lopez singled and doubled in three at-bats, scoring twice and driving in a pair, while eighth-grader Javi Jimenez went 1-for-2 with three walks, scoring twice.

“This group has been pretty resilient lately,” Cruce said. “Somebody gets up on us and they don’t panic; they just go back to work.”

In the seventh, the Cats got a two-run single from Rodriguez, a two-run double Lopez from and an RBI single from Rivera, while another run scored on an error.

For Sandia (11-6), Nico Barela finished 3-for-3, reaching base in all five trips to the plate. He had a double, a run scored and three RBIs.

The Cats now have some time to get ready for District 4-5A favorite and second-ranked Carlsbad (13-3) in a 5 p.m. single game at Bell Park. The teams meet again the following night in a twin bill at Carlsbad.