Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Portales High second baseman Elijah Tellez couldn't catch Roswell Goddard's Lucas Wright as he dove back into second, but Tellez did get the out at first during the opener of Friday's District 4-4A baseball doubleheader at Ram Field.
PORTALES – Fresh off a big win in Thursday's series opener at Roswell, Portales High's baseball team couldn't continue the momentum at home on Friday.
Roswell Goddard pounded out 26 hits, including 17 in the opener, and cruised to 15-3 and 12-0 District 4-4A run-rule victories over the Rams at Ram Field.
While the Rockets (15-8, 5-1 district) scored in eight of the 10 innings, their pitching limited the Rams to nine singles in the two games.
On Thursday night, PHS stunned Goddard 14-8 behind three-run homers from freshman Carson Pfaffenberger and junior Noah Swift, the latter of the inside-the-park variety.
"Goddard bounced back from last night," Rams coach Ruben Tellez said. "They showed a lot of heart and took care of business."
The Rockets pulled into a first-place tie with Artesia (13-10, 5-1) after the Bulldogs settled for a split at Lovington (9-14, 1-5) on Friday. Those teams meet this weekend with the district title on the line.
"It's nice to put ourselves back in position to compete for the district," Goddard coach and former Eastern New Mexico University player Gilbert Alvarado said. "That's what we wanted."
Meantime, the Rams (10-11, 1-5) play host Lovington at 5 p.m. on Thursday before traveling to Lovington for two games on Friday as both teams look to slip into the 16-team Class 4A state bracket.
Six players posted multi-hit games for Goddard in the opener, led by senior left fielder Lucas Wright with 3-for-3 and three RBIs, senior third baseman Bryce Carrillo with 3-for-4 and senior center fielder Colby Eldridge with 3-for-5, including two of the team's six doubles.
"They beat us pretty badly yesterday," Alvarado said. "We definitely put everything together tonight – offense, defense and pitching. The boys showed how they're capable of playing."
Goddard broke open the lidlifter with an eight-run third for a 10-0 lead, highlighted by consecutive doubles from juniors Cinco Holloway and Michael Mathison and Carrillo, combining for five RBIs.
Junior right-hander Tyler Conrad worked four innings for the win, striking out seven, while junior Garrett Langley finished with a hitless fifth. Juniors Kaiden Gutierrez and Elijah Tellez were both 2-for-3 for PHS.
In Game 2, Goddard score five runs in the first and Eldridge worked three innings on the mound, striking out seven. Carrillo went 2-for-3 with a two-run double in the third, while junior shortstop Ross Stokes was also 2-for-3.
The Rams were held to three hits, including two by Gutierrez.
"They threw strikes and got ahead in the court," coach Tellez said of Goddard's pitching. "When you get behind, you have to throw the ball down the middle. We'll hope for the best now on Thursday (against Lovington)."
Portales 14, Goddard 8 (Thursday) – The Rams fell behind 6-1 early, but took the lead with a seven-run fourth and added five more in the sixth.
Swift and senior Trevin Price were both 3-for-five for PHS, while four others had two hits. Goddard's top hitter was junior Ryan Alsup, who was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
