DOLORES COUNTY – A dramatic late-inning rally from down 6-4 at the end of the fourth inning gave Ignacio a two-run lead in the second half of Monday evening’s San Juan Basin League doubleheader against Dove Creek. The Bobcats ended up winning 10-8, following up on their 14-10 win earlier that day and improving to 8-3 overall and 6-1 in the SJBL.
“It’s a real tradition that we’ve got to keep going,” said IHS junior center fielder Sonny Flores, referring to Bobcat baseball’s three consecutive league-winning seasons. “So this was a big thing for us … and it means a lot to us. We’re pretty hyped up.”
Ignacio took game one 14-10, erasing early deficits of 1-0 after one inning, 3-1 through two and 6-3 through four. Junior pitcher Gabe Archuleta belted a third-inning double to center off DCHS senior pitcher Sheldon Gardner and Cole Wagner hammered a two-run homer moments later to left, energizing the Bobcats and giving them hope for a comeback.
The first four ’Cats up in the visitors’ fifth all reached base, with three scoring. Two were via Flores’ double to right, with Wagner scoring via an error on DCHS’ relay throw through the infield. Easton Smith then struck out to end the inning, but the damage was done as the Bobcats had all the momentum with the game tied at 6-6.
“That was a huge relief; everyone was really aggressive at the plate, wanting to hit the ball instead of taking their time getting to know their pitch,” said Flores. “Once I hit that double I knew we were right back in the game; everyone else could feed off that emotion.”
Dove Creek (4-7, 2-3 SJBL) had three hitters in a row strikeout to finish the fifth. Ignacio broke the game open with six runs in the top of the sixth, two of which were thanks to a White Thunder double. Although the ’Cats tacked on two more against reliever Trevan Ivie in the seventh, the Bulldogs weren’t out of the game. A two-RBI Ivie single and subsequent error from Gardner that allowed Ivie to score forced IHS to stay focused until the finish.
After surrendering a comeback in game one, Dove Creek was determined to split the doubleheader. Faced with a 10-8 deficit in the bottom of the seventh and final inning of game two, the Bulldogs’ capable 4-5-6 hitters greeted IHS’ Cole Wagner, who was beginning his fourth inning as Ignacio’s reliever. Having already smashed two doubles and a long sacrifice fly, senior Sheldon Gardner unsurprisingly started off singling to right field.
Wagner recovered splendidly, getting Liam Hassell to foul off a pitch into now-catcher Archuleta’s mitt for the first out. With an RBI single to his name (the fourth run of Dove Creek’s breakout third inning), Konner Spigner then flew out to IHS senior left fielder Easton Smith for DCHS’ second out.
But Frankey Montoya then singled into left and Clayton Smith loaded the bases due to Ambrose Valdez’s fielding error. Nicholas Aragon came to the plate with a chance to be the hero for Dove Creek.
Hitting ninth and at the least hoping to drive in one run and turn the lineup over to leadoff man Josh Kibel, Aragon made contact. However, he couldn’t bounce the baseball high enough to clear Wagner, who gloved the ball and threw it to first baseman Stoney White Thunder to secure a 10-8 victory, a three-game season sweep of Dove Creek and pole position in the SJBL title race.
White Thunder worked 4-1/3 innings (6 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 4 K) of long relief of Valdez (2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 K) and earned the win while Gardner (5 IP, 11 R, 6 ER, 8 K) took the loss. Wagner notched the game-two win, allowing zero runs and just two base hits while scattering three walks.
After going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in game one, Valdez reached base four times and scored four runs in game two. In the first game, White Thunder went 2-4 with a walk, three runs and as many RBI. White Thunder went 3-5 in game two with three doubles, two runs and one batted in. William Mendoza-Lechuga went 2-2, drew two walks, scored twice and singled home Valdez to ignite IHS’ last-gasp rally.
Ignacio will next see action on Friday with another doubleheader against nonleague Sanford at home with the first game starting at 11 a.m. Sanford is 3-5 on the season.
