Portales pitcher Brandon Adkins fires a pick-off throw to first in bottom of the ninth inning of the first game of Saturday’s District 4-3A doubleheader against Lovington.

The Lovington Wildcats held off a seventh-inning rally by Portales to beat the Rams 6-5 Saturday at Ram Field and gain a split of their District 4-3A baseball doubleheader.

Portales won the opener 9-3 and now stands 11-8 overall and 9-3 in the district.

Senior Brandon Adkins pitched six strong innings to get the win in the opener, with freshman David Rodriguez working the seventh.

“He kept his ball in the (strike) zone,” Rams coach Arturo Ontiveros said of Adkins, who had five strikeouts. “He gave up five walks, but he was more consistent (around) the pitching zone today.”

The Rams put the game away with a five-run sixth, opening a 9-2 lead. Adkins had a triple, senior Eric Aguilar added a double and senior Derek Robinson delivered a single in that inning, and the Rams took advantage of a couple of walks.

“It was tough to try to take advantage of the opportunities we had,” Lovington coach John Moore said. “Our pitcher … gave up some walks, and we don’t want to see that.”

In the second game, the Rams were held in check by Lovington pitcher Tyler Gruenewald most of the game. The Wildcats (10-11, 8-6 district) opened a 4-0 lead with a three-run fourth to chase Rams starter Logan Erf.

Portales came back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Lovington scored single runs in the fifth and seventh. That turned out to be just enough when the Rams rallied for two in the bottom half.

Greunewald also led Lovington’s nine-hit attack, going 3-for-4. The Rams finished with nine hits, with Adkins going 3-for-4 and Martin Mendoza and Eric Aguilar each adding a pair of hits.