Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Lady Rattler short stop Alyssa Martinez watches as first baseman Melanie Jones secures the ball before the runner makes it to base for the final out during the 14-9 win over Santa Rosa.
By Thomas Garcia
QCS Senior Writer
The Tucumcari Lady Rattlers softball team is second in the District 5/6-3A standings with just two district games left in the regular season.
"We gained a lot of momentum during the recent win over the Santa Rosa Lady Lions," said Donnie Garcia, head coach.
The Lady Rattlers, 10-5, 5-3, will face the third-place Lady Lions 13-6, 4-3 on Monday at Santa Rosa.
The Lady Rattlers beat the Lady Lions on April 20, 14-9 at Tucumcari, which moved them into second place.
The Lady Rattlers and Lady Lions exchanged leads in the fourth and fifth innings with the score tied 9-9 in the bottom of the ninth inning.
A combination of well-hit balls and fielding errors by the Lady Lions led to runs late in the ninth inning for the Lady Rattlers and a 14-9 lead.
Defensively, the Lady Rattlers were able to close out the Lady Lions without allowing a single base runner in the final inning. The last out was a throw out at first from shortstop Alyssa Martinez to Melanie Jones.
"I didn't know what the call was going to be, I just kept thinking 'catch the ball, just catch the ball,'" Jones said.
She said as the team prepares to meet the Lady Lions again, it needs to keep working hard in practice. She said the team will need to limit errors while on defense in order to keep Santa Rosa's runners from being in scoring position.
"I am proud how the girls played with intensity all the way through the game," Garcia said. "They got behind but did not lose their composure. They focused, made the plays they needed on defense and took advantage of opportunities on offense."
Game time: 4 p.m. at Santa Rosa
Other high school sports action:
Softball
Logan Lady Longhorns, 3-5, 0-5
April 17
Won 17-16 at Clayton
April 21
Lost 18-12 at Estancia
Baseball
Grady/San Jon, 8-5-1
April 17
Lost 4-3 vs Dora
April 21
Won 18-6 at Logan
Won 15-3 at Logan
Logan Longhorns, 0-15, 0-14
April 17
Lost 18-1 at Gateway Christian
April 21
Lost 18-6 vs Grady/San Jon
Lost 15-3 vs Grady/San Jon
Tucumcari Rattlers, 7-10, 1-5
April 18
Lost 13-1 at Clayton
Won 11-10 at Clayton
April 21
Lost 21-2 at Texico
Upcoming games
Baseball
Friday
Noon, Grady/San Jon vs Floyd •
4 p.m., Tucumcari at Santa Rosa •
Monday
3 p.m., Grady/San Jon vs Gateway Christian
3 p.m., Logan vs Melrose
Softball
Friday
2 p.m., Logan vs Laguna Acoman
Monday
4 p.m., Logan at Dora
4 p.m., Tucumcari at Santa Rosa
Tuesday
3 p.m., Logan vs Santa Rosa
4 p.m., Tucumcari vs Estancia
• marks double header
Track and field
Saturday
9 a.m., Logan at District 6-AA track meet at Melrose
9 a.m., San Jon at District 4-A track meet at Melrose
10 a.m., Tucumcari at District 5-3A track meet at Clayton
