McCurdy blasts Dragons 19-3 after slow start
The McCurdy Bobcats were ready, but not ready Wednesday afternoon.
Another slow start had McCurdy looking at a 3-0 deficit to start its District 2/3-3A baseball game against Monte del Sol at Tom McReynolds Field, but the Bobcats responded with 19 unanswered runs in a 19-3 win that kept them in lockstep with the Raton Tigers for the top spot in the district.
With a doubleheader at Raton on Saturday that will likely determine the 2/3-3A champion, Bobcats head coach Robert DeVargas knows his team can’t afford to not be ready for the Tigers.
“I was telling the kids [against the Dragons], ‘You gotta get focused and get ready to play,’ ” DeVargas said. “Today we were ready, but not ready.”
It was clear when starting pitcher Ubaldo Barela didn’t warm up enough and Monte del Sol (5-7 overall, 1-5 in 2-5A) put together three hits and a couple of walks to score its three runs to start the game. McCurdy (7-5, 5-1) responded with five runs in the bottom of the frame, though, then added six in the second and eight in the third to put the game away.
Barela made up for his slow start by going 2-for-2 at the plate with three RBIs and three runs scored. Matthew Martinez went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a home run, while Kemmer Croff had a double and a triple and drove in three runs.
Martinez relieved Barela in the third, and pitched two scoreless innings, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out five.
McCurdy can sweep the Tigers to take over first place, but there is a possibility that a split could lead lead to a threeway tie with Pecos, which beat Raton 10-8 on Tuesday.
“It’s a great opportunity right now,” DeVargas said. “The winner of that [doubleheader] will be the district champ if we win out the rest of our district games. I told the guys to focus and get ready to play some good ball.”
SOFTBALL CAPITAL 14, DEL NORTE 4 (FIVE INNINGS)
The Lady Jaguars used a sevenrun third inning to pull away from the Lady Knights (3-15, 0-8) in a 2-5A game at Jaguar Field, and setting themselves up for the biggest district doubleheader they’ve had in years this weekend.
Ariana Almeida allowed just two hits in her complete game for Capital (11-10, 5-2), and she went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs to help her cause. Yamile Cota scored three runs and went 2-for-2 with a walk. JoJo Bowannie had two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Capital heads to Española Valley on Saturday to take on the Lady Sundevils in what amounts to an elimination doubleheader. A sweep by either team takes the other team out of the running for the district title, for all intents and purposes.
“Hopefully the girls can use this win as a little motivation and some confidence,” Capital head coach Sig Rivera said. “We’ll see what we can do with Española. Everything is on the line on Saturday. We’ll see how the girls react to pressure. I’m not sure if they’ve had pressure before, but we’ll see how they react to it.”