Injury-plagued Horsemen still a force to contend with

Sean Latham can’t seem to avoid the “questionable” tag when it comes to the health of right shoulder of the St. Michael’s pitching ace.

And it always seems to happen when the Taos Tigers come to town.

Three weeks ago, Latham had shoulder soreness that turned him into a designated hitter/first baseman for St. Michael’s as it swept the Tigers in the District 2-4A doubleheader at Christian Brothers Athletic Complex. As the Horsemen prepare for the opening round of the Class 4A State Tournament at home against the Tigers, Latham has gone from the Game 1 starting pitcher to likely the starting first baseman for Friday’s opener. St. Michael’s comes into the game as the seventh seed in the 16-team bracket, while Taos is No. 10.

Latham admits to dealing with frustration over his injuries.

“Coming down the stretch and right around the beginning of state, I really want to be 100 percent for that,” Latham said. “I really want to be out there [on the mound], especially [Friday]. But it’ll be OK.”

Latham sees the pitching depth the team has behind him, and knows St. Michael’s can handle his absence. Jude Mondragon is set to take the hill on Friday, with freshman Thomas Erickson and sophomore Eric Romero scheduled for the final two games of the best-of-three series.

Of course, Latham could feel fine, like he did for the second game of the April 14 doubleheader, in which he came on in relief and shut down the Tigers over the final 1⅓ innings to preserve a 5-4 win. Latham’s latest issue came when he tried diving to tag a Robertson runner out during

a 2-1 loss to the Cardinals that gave Robertson the 2-4A title and paved the way for a third seed.

But injuries have been a way of life for the Horsemen this season. Not one player saw action in every game this season, and district season saw Latham battle his shoulder woes and Jonah Baca miss a week of action with an ankle injury.

“It’s just adversity,” St. Michael’s head coach Augustin Ruiz said. “We’ve talked to our guys about that part of it, and guys having to step up and fill those roles. Sean’s still gonna be in the lineup hitting, but he is a big presence on the mound.”

At least the hitting has come around. The Horsemen have reached double figures in runs for five of the past eight games, including a 20-2 shellacking of the Tigers in the opener of that doubleheader. The late-season spurt lifted the team’s batting average to .301, and the return of Baca helped add a power element to the lineup.

He has had two home runs and 10 RBIs since his return, but Baca feels his ankle injury might have been the best thing for the Horsemen.

“When I was out, they were hitting ridiculous,” Baca said. “And when I came back, we absolutely crushed some teams. I think when someone goes out, someone picks it up, and that’s the thing with a strong lineup.”

Ruiz feels that combination of deep pitching and a surging lineup makes St. Michael’s a dangerous team as a seven seed. While he and the Horsemen felt they should have gotten a higher seed, they looked at their side of the bracket and believe they can make a deep run — maybe even to the state championship game.

It would be a nice make-up for last year’s seventh-inning collapse against Portales in the 4A semifinals, as the Rams scored three times in the seventh for a 4-3 win.

“For me, I feel like I have a little chip on my shoulder,” Latham said. “I want to get back there and redeem myself for that last inning. I can’t speak for everybody else, but I bet they feel the same way.”