Rams finish third in St. Mike's tournament

SANTA FE – Portales High’s baseball team scored six runs each in the fourth and fifth innings to break open the game in a 14-0, five-inning triumph over Pecos on Saturday in the third-place contest of the St. Michael’s Invitational.

Sophomore left-hander Carson Pfaffenberger went the distance for PHS (7-4) and allowed just a pair of singles to the Panthers (4-4), including one of the infield variety. He had two walks and six strikeouts.

Leading 2-0, the Rams got a two-run triple from senior Noah Swift in the fourth and a two-run home run from senior Peyton Williams in the fifth.

“We just got going,” Rams coach Arturo Ontiveros said. “We hit their starter pretty hard, and I don’t think they had a lot of pitching left after that. And they never got anything going against Carson.”

Senior Zane Mayberry went 2-for-2 with a pair of infield hits, driving in a run and scoring twice for Portale, which finished with 12 hits. Swift ended up 2-for-3 and also scored a run.

Senior Kaiden Gutierrez and junior Elijah Tellez each drove in a run, scored twice and finished 2-for-4 for the Rams, while junior Dallas Tivis was also 2-for-4 with a two-run single.

Senior Edel Legarda was chosen to represent the Rams on the all-tournament team.

The Rams were slated to return to action on Tuesday night with a game against Clovis High at Bell Park. Their next outing is on Thursday at Ram Field against West Las Vegas.

Softball – After reaching the finals of the St. Mike’s Invitational with a pair of wins, the Lady Rams dropped a 5-3 decision to Santa Fe High in Saturday’s championship contest.

The Lady Demons (9-8) scored three runs in the top of the first and never relinquished the lead, adding two runs in the fourth for a 5-2 advantage in avenging a 12-1 home loss to PHS the previous weekend. Freshman Leah Gutierrez went the distance in the circle for Santa Fe High, and also contributed a two-run triple.

Portales was slated to return to action on Tuesday night with a home doubleheader against Clovis High. The next outing for the Lady Rams is next Wednesday in a 4:30 p.m. doubleheader at Dexter.