Cavemen rally in fifth for 7-5 win over Cats

CARLSBAD – Clovis High’s baseball team had a chance to steal one in a place where it’s been tough for them to win over the years.

But the Wildcats weren’t able to close the deal as Carlsbad rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fifth on Thursday to claim a 7-5 victory in the District 4-5A opener for both squads.

“We had a great chance to come down here and win a ballgame,” CHS baseball coach Richard Cruse said. “But we gave up 12 free (baserunners) with walks, hit-by-pitches and errors.”

After falling behind 2-0 in the first, the Cats (10-7 overall) built a 5-2 lead behind a three-run third that included run-scoring singles from freshman Javi Jimenez and senior Koby Rivera and an RBI groundout by senior Nate McIntosh.

Rivera’s RBI single in the top of the fifth made it 5-2, but the bottom half against senior right-hander Jayden Jameson opened with an error and a walk. The big blow in the frame for the Cavemen (12-6) was a two-run triple by senior Hazen Wright.

“We had a chance to put them away, and we didn’t do it,” Cruse said.

Jameson gave up six hits, six walks and seven runs (four earned) in four-plus cantos.

“Jayden had baserunners all game long,” Cruse said. “We walked too many people, and they were stressful pitches.”

Clovis posted a 10-7 advantage in hits, with Rivera and senior Jasiah Mendoza each getting three of them. Wright was the only Carlsbad player with more than one hit, going 2-for-4.

The teams were slated to play a Friday night twin bill at Bell Park to complete the series. Next up for Clovis is a three-game series with Hobbs, starting with a 5 p.m. single tilt on Thursday at Hobbs before moving to Bell Park for a 4:30 p.m. twin bill on Friday.