Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Tucumcari Rattlers will compete today in the second round of the 3A state baseball tournament against the second-seeded Estancia Bears at Cleveland High School in Albuquerque.
“We have to play aggressively from the very start,” said Isaac Arias, Rattlers junior. “It will be important to for us to have the mentality focused on the intent to win.”
The key to beating the Bears is for the guys to be mentally focused on executing the fundamentals and avoiding errors, said Dwayne Roberts, Rattlers head coach.
Roberts said the team will have to be focused on playing sound baseball while not giving the Bears any unearned runs do to errors. He said the Bears are a fundamentally sound team, and the Rattlers can not afford to give them any opportunities.
“The Rattlers have the ability to play at this level, against these top ranked teams,” Roberts said. “If they maintain their focus and believe in themselves they can play with Estancia.”
The Rattlers advanced to the second round after defeating the seventh-seeded Tigers 4-3 on May 2 at Raton. It was one of just two upsets in the 16-team opening round.
“Every play must be thought through, to ensure we are backing each other up on the field and to prevent any errors,” said Josh Walker, senior pitcher.
Walker said everyone will be focusing on playing sound baseball.
“We are aware that it’s win or go home,” Walker said. “We have the mindset of playing seven innings of baseball.”