As any student of America’s Game knows, the baseball gods are mightily unpredictable. But every once in a while, they give you exactly what you want. And for fans in Southeast New Mexico, that’s a District 4-AAAA showdown between Artesia and Goddard with all the marbles on the line.
Following a three-game sweep of Lovington Friday and Saturday (20-5 in five innings, 11-10 and 13-1 in five innings), the Bulldogs put themselves on a familiar collision course with the Rockets. Both now stand at 6-0 in the district, and both will be ready to battle it out this week for not only the D4 crown but a favorable seed in the fast-approaching Class 4A State Tournament as well.
The Diamond ‘Dogs got things started Thursday in Wildcat Country with a dominant five-inning run rule of their hosts, 20-5, that saw the boys in orange rack up 16 hits while scoring at least two runs in each trip to the plate.
The ‘Dogs plated their first three runs in the top of the first on a pair of errors and a two-RBI single to right by first baseman Rickey Armendariz, then made it 7-0 in the second on a big three-run homer over the fence in left by leadoff Nye Estrada and a stolen-base-turned-two-base-throwing-error.
The ‘Cats picked up their inaugural run in the home half on a Bulldog error that still resulted in the inning’s second out after batter Patrick Sanchez was caught trying to stretch it to two. But Artesia would break the contest wide open in the top of three, batting around and putting six more runs on the board.
Armendariz led off that at-bat with an infield single and came home on a three-base throwing error on a bunt by Jesse Armendariz. The latter then scored on an Ayden Huffman double to right-center, and both Huffman and Kaden Beauregard — aboard as a hit batsman — headed home on a two-RBI base hit from Estrada. Back-to-back RBI singles from Daelon Pacheco and Jett Fuentes made it 13-1.
With the run rule on the table, Artesia tacked on what turned out to be a helpful quintet of insurance runs in the top of four. A one-out triple by Estrada gave the ‘Dogs a runner in scoring position, and with two away, Jack Byers would single him home before scoring on a Fuentes base hit, and Armendariz would belt the team’s second homer of the night over the left-field fence to add three more, 18-1.
The Wildcats would make that 18-5 in the bottom half of the inning on RBI singles from Sanchez and Jayden Gutierrez and a two-RBI base knock from Auden Parades. But Artesia rounded out the 20-5 final in the top of the fifth on an Estrada RBI hit up the middle and an error.
Going the distance through five on the hill, the sophomore Byers struck out the first two Wildcat batters in the bottom of five but saw the bases loaded on a walk, a Ryan Wieser double, and a hit batsman. He’d buckle down and get the final batter looking, however, to end the threat and the game.
Byers had seven hits and three earned runs to his credit while racking up 10 Ks and walking just the one.
Estrada led the ‘Dogs at the plate, coming a double away from the cycle with a 4-5 showing that included two singles, a triple, a homer, and six runs batted in. Rickey Armendariz was 3-4 with a homer and five RBI, Pacheco 2-3 with one RBI, and Fuentes 2-5 with two RBI.
The series moved west to Brainard Park Friday for a double header, and Artesia spiced things up with a significant dash of suspense in the opener for their Little League Night crowd.
The ‘Dogs again bounded out to an early lead in the contest, taking two out of the bottom of the first on a Byers RBI double and an RBI infield hit from Fuentes, then making it 5-0 in the second when Morales and Jesse Armendariz doubled and singled, respectively, to lead off and were driven home by an Estrada two-bagger, and Estrada came the rest of the way on a double to left by Byers.
But the Wildcats weren’t going down without a fight this time, sending a jolt through the ballpark with a seven-inning top of the fourth that gave them a two-run lead.
Lovington batted around in their half of the inning, quickly picking up their first two runs on a single up the middle from Wieser and a homer to left by catcher Mika Pando. They continued to make contact as starting pitcher Estrada gave way to sophomore Morales, loading the bases on singles from Sanchez and Ethan Gonzales and a hit batsman before plating two more on a Fidencio Lujan two-RBI base hit. They’d bring their fifth, sixth and seventh runs home on an error and a two-RBI double to center from Wieser.
To their credit, the Bulldogs wasted no time shaking off the table turning, but from that point forward, the see-saw battle was on.
Artesia tied things up at 7-all on one swing in the bottom of the fourth, with Beauregard walking to lead off before Galindo delivered a two-run homer to left.
Lovington took advantage of a string of Bulldog errors — three amidst pickoff attempts — in the top of the fifth, going up 8-7 with an unearned run, and the boys in orange reinstated the deadlock in the home half on a Beauregard RBI fielder’s choice.
The ‘Cats staged a two-out rally in the top of six to go up by two this time, 10-8, on a Wieser single and two-run tater from Pando, but the ‘Dogs again answered in kind, with Byers reaching on a one-out double down the left-field line before coming home on a clutch homer to left-center by Pacheco.
As the game entered its final inning, Artesia’s fourth pitcher of the outing — Beauregard — and his defense were able to hold the Wildcats scoreless in the top of seven on a fly ball to left, a strikeout, and a gun-down of Lujan by Galindo during an attempt to steal third.
That gave Artesia a chance to end it in regulation, and with one away, a single to left by Beauregard and walk-off RBI double to deep center by Huffman did just that, 11-10.
Byers finished 3-4 at the plate on the night with a trio of doubles and two RBI, while Estrada went 2-2 with a double and two runs batted in.
And with that scare out of the way, the ‘Dogs would leave nothing up in the air in the nightcap.
With the sophomore Pacheco on the mound, the boys in blue managed just a single run through five innings in the teams’ final outing. That came in the top of the third after Wieser walked with one away and was driven in by a double to right-center from Pando.
Lovington threatened with bases loaded and no outs in the first but went down on back-to-back strikeouts and a liner to Estrada at second. They’d leave a runner on third in the fourth and would again strand a trio in the fifth.
The ‘Dogs, meanwhile, went up 1-0 in the first on an RBI single from Morales before batting around in the second. There, Fuentes — on with a walk — crossed on a Jesse Armendariz infield single, and Huffman — aboard with a bunt single — scored on a double-steal. Armendariz then came around on a hit to left from Estrada, and both Galindo and Byers — on with singles — scored on RBI fielder’s choices from Morales and Rickey Armendariz.
The boys in orange made it 9-1 in the third on an Estrada RBI triple and RBI base hits from Galindo and Byers, and the Bulldogs would secure the 13-1 run-rule margin in the bottom of four on a wild pitch, a balk, and RBI doubles by Estrada and Byers.
Pacheco finished with four hits, one run and eight strikeouts through five, and Artesia was led at the plate by Estrada, 4-4 with a double, a triple and three RBI; Byers, 3-4 with a double and two RBI; Galindo, 2-3 with one RBI; and Jesse Armendariz, 2-2 with a double and one run batted in.
Goddard (18-5, 6-0) completed their series with Lovington April 17 and 18, winning by similar scores of 18-1, 10-2 and 8-5. The Rockets swept Portales Thursday and Friday by finals of 7-1, 4-1 and 8-1. The ‘Dogs (12-11, 6-0) went 16-2, 7-4 and 3-2 with the Rams in their series.
The Bulldogs and Rockets will open at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 2, with a 5 p.m. game at Brainard Park before moving to Roswell Friday for the 5 and 7 p.m. double header at the Launch Pad.
