Tucumcari triumphs at Estancia

Tucumcari's baseball team notched a victory on its first weekend of the season, matching the wins it totaled last season.

One day after an 11-5 loss Friday against visiting Raton, the Rattlers earned a 14-3 victory in five innings at Estancia during the Bears' season-opener.

"Today was a perfect rebound game for us after mentally breaking down yesterday against Raton," Tucumcari coach George Montano said after Saturday's win. "We stayed in front of the ball, we had quality at-bats, and we played together. We're gonna enjoy it."

All Tucumcari batters notched at least one hit and collectively stole 24 bases off the Bears.

Montano said assistant coach Matt Garcia wanted the Rattlers to be more aggressive on the basepaths because of howling winds Saturday.

"Me calling signs wasn't going to work, so I told him, 'I trust you with whatever you do,' and it worked," Montano said.

Jordan Rincones went 2-for-2 with two RBI and was on base two more times with a walk and being hit by a pitch. Xzander Garcia totaled three hits and three RBI. Juano Martinez went 2-for-3 with one RBI, and Luis Archuleta went 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Kamren Apodaca earned the win for Tucumcari. He allowed two hits, three walks and one earned run while striking out eight.

"Everyone contributed big today," Montano said.

A young Tucumcari team went 1-19 overall last season. The win Saturday tied the number of victories it amassed in 2022.

At Logan, the crack of the bat signifying spring was replaced by a pinging sound with the return of metal bats in New Mexico high school baseball this year.

Montano wished he heard a lot more of those pings from his team during the season-opening loss Friday against Raton.

The Rattlers managed one hit - a single late in the game by Rincones - and left eight runners on base while striking out 14 times against four Tigers pitchers. Raton improved to 1-1.

"We didn't really hit the ball," Montano said. "Same thing as last year: We were watching good pitches and swinging at bad pitches."

Tucumcari had its chances for big innings by drawing eight walks and two hit batters. The Rattlers scored most of its runs on wild pitches. The lone RBIs by Tucumcari came from bases-loaded walks by Isaiah Jimenez and Archuleta.

That said, the still-young Rattlers weren't as overmatched at the plate as they were last season and showed more fundamental soundness.

"We did put more balls in play than we did during games last year, so that's always nice," Montano said. "But we improved late in the season last year, and we're improving now.

"There's a big improvement in the guys all around," he added. "We feel like we have two or three lineups we can put in and compete with. These guys have been playing baseball together for a while. Hopefully, we can turn it around and start playing better."

The lack of offensive support, plus three errors, spoiled a good outing by Tucumcari starting pitcher Josh Griego. He allowed 13 hits, walked two and struck out eight in six innings. Just six of the 11 runs allowed were earned.

"Josh, he wanted the ball," Montano said. "We never turn down anybody who wants the ball. He threw a great game. It just that he needed help. If a pitcher can't get help, that makes it a hard night."

Tucumcari started promisingly by retiring Raton in order in the first inning.

Raton drew first blood on an unearned run in the top of the second, then added three in the third for a 4-0 lead.

Tucumcari scored two in the third on four walks and an error. Billy Otero, who walked to lead off, advanced on an error and scored Tucumcari's first run of the season on a wild pitch. Archuleta drove in the second run with the bases-loaded walk.

The Tigers seized control with six runs in the fifth on six hits, one walk and one error to take a 10-2 lead.

"We were in the ballgame at the beginning of it," Montano said. "We should have stayed in the ballgame, and we probably should have won the ballgame. It's a bit frustrating."

Tucumcari scored two in the sixth on an error, a single and two walks - one a bases-loaded pass drawn by Jimenez.

The Rattlers will play home baseball games this season at Logan's high-school diamond near Ute Lake State Park because of ongoing construction of new baseball and softball fields in Tucumcari.

"It is kind of difficult not having a field," Montano said. "They're doing the best they can with it. Like I told the boys, we have to buckle down a little bit more. We're at a disadvantage already with our situation. The boys have responded good to it."

As for the new metal bats, Montano said the adjustment isn't on offense, but defense.

"The approach (with hitting) is the same," he said. "On the defensive side of the ball, it comes a little bit harder and faster. We try to hit balls at them pretty hard (in practice) so they get adjusted to it."