Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Tucumcari's Andrew Henderson-Clark is congratulated by a teammate after he scored during a double-steal in the fourth inning of the first game of a district doubleheader April 12 against Sandia Prep at Tucumcari.
Sandia Prep's baseball team rose to the No. 1 ranking in Class 3A a few days before its district matchup at Tucumcari, and it played like a top-ranked squad during a doubleheader sweep of the Rattlers on April 12.
The Sundevils (13-4) cruised to 20-6 and 15-5 victories over the Rattlers (1-13), with both games shortened by the mercy rule.
Sandia Prep, winners of eight in a row, also stayed in first place in District 4/5 with a 6-0 mark.
The Sundevils put on a clinic in the opener. Their bats consistently made contact with 16 hits, including seven for extra bases. One of those was Chris Andrick's three-run homer over the left-field fence. He totaled five RBI.
Sandia Park committed only three errors, with most of them after the game was well under its control. Pitcher Estevan Ortega allowed four hits and three walks in four innings before making way for his relievers.
Tucumcari coach George Montano said after the first game the Sundevils' solid play is what he hopes his players aspire to attain.
"We don't do the little things, and teams like this show if you do little things, you're successful," he said. "They hit the ball well, and they're fundamentally sound on defense. They don't chase bad pitches on offense. They're a really good team.
"You never know ... maybe we piggyback off them and can turn this around a little bit."
Sandia Prep stormed to a 13-0 lead after four innings before the Rattlers' bats got going.
"We hit the ball; unfortunately, it was right to them," Montano said. "When we do get runners on, we can move around the bases a little bit. But we're still watching strike three, and we're swinging at pitches we shouldn't be swinging at.
"Defensively, it's the same thing - missing pop flies, grounders, not stopping the ball behind the plate. It's all those things we work on that we're not doing."
Tucumcari starting pitcher Josh Griego went 3 1/3 innings before being lifted due to an elevated pitch count. He struck out five, walked four and allowed nine hits.
Tucumcari got on the scoreboard with three runs in the fourth. Andrew Henderson-Clark and Isaiah Jimenez each scored during double-steals. Samuel Lopez also drove in a run on a groundout.
The Rattlers scored three in the fifth on four straight walks and a series of passed balls by an ineffective Sandia Park reliever.
The sames were played under windy conditions that were unusual even for the High Plains. The National Weather Service station at Tucumcari Municipal Airport recorded sustained winds of 39 mph during the opener's first pitch, with gusts of 61 mph. Clouds of dust continually billowed from the infield.
An astonished Sandia Prep coach asked Montano during the game: "Is it windy like this all the time?"
Montano said it was, though he acknowledged conditions that day were severe.
Estancia 8, Tucumcari 1
Estancia 21, Tucumcari 4
Visiting Estancia swept a non-district doubleheader Saturday from Tucumcari by scores of 8-1 and 21-4.
In the first game, the Rattlers managed just two hits against a committee of three Bears pitchers, and they didn't score until the final inning.
In the nightcap, Estancia stormed to a 7-2 lead after two innings and scored nine runs in the fourth to take control. Tucumcari totaled only three hits and four walks.
Tucumcari fell to 1-15. Estancia improved to 9-6.