Rattlers can't hold lead against Dons

There's no avoiding the ugly truth: The Tucumcari baseball team blew a late three-run lead during a 20-15 non-district home loss last Tuesday against West Las Vegas.

However, the Rattlers program had some good takeaways from the game.

The fact the Rattlers made the Dons battle for the win was noteworthy in itself. The rebuilding THS baseball program hadn't been competitive against West Las Vegas in years. In their last half-dozen games against the Dons, the Rattlers lost nearly all of them by the 10-run mercy rule.

The fact the Rattlers overcame deficits of 8-0 and 9-1 and rallied to a 13-10 lead at the bottom of the sixth inning was another sign of a team rapidly gaining in confidence.

"I just I told them, if we take anything out of this, we learned that we can fight back," Rattlers coach George Montano said. "Being even competitive like this just on the scoreboard is big.

"It's still a loss. But these guys have finally realized that we can play. They're very positive even after we just lost. I think now they finally believe they can compete with anybody."

Kamren Apodaca went 3-for-5 at the plate with three RBI. Luis Archuleta, Nick Goen and Juano Martinez each drove in three runs for the Rattlers.

The Dons improved to 1-1.

Tucumcari started Josh Griego on the mound, but he was pulled after one inning. Wes Las Vegas scored eight runs off him on four hits, one walk and four errors. Montano said Griego wasn't his usual self.

"Josh's arm was tight, but he still wanted to go. It didn't loosen up during the outing," Montano said.

Goen came on in relief and allowed just two runs in the next five innings.

Meanwhile, the Rattlers whittled down the Dons' lead. They scored four in the second, three in the fourth and one in the fifth.

After the fifth inning, they trailed only 10-9, thanks to Martinez's RBI double.

In the bottom of the sixth, Tucumcari scored four runs on three hits, a walk and four errors. Apodaca and Archuleta each delivered RBI singles during the rally for a 13-10 lead.

But the Dons scored 10 runs in the bottom of the sixth on six hits, two walks and an error. West Las Vegas chased Goen from the inning, and two more runs scored off reliever Oscar Angel for a 20-13 Dons lead.

West Las Vegas' Mateo Duran hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run during the rally when Apodaca dived to try to make a catch on the sinking line drive but missed, and it rolled to the fence.

Javier Montoya hit a two-run triple to the left-field gap, and Estevan Collins smacked a two-run double down the left-field line.

Montano said his team's inexperience in tight games showed.

"We're new to it," he said. "We're not used to it. We don't know how to keep our composure. We don't know how to stay in the moment of what's going on. We still kind of lose track a little bit."

Tucumcari rallied in the bottom of the seventh with Goen's triple and Griego's single that drove in runs before the Dons notched the final out.

Tucumcari 19, Clayton 9

Tucumcari scored 10 runs in the final two innings to secure a 19-9 non-district victory Friday at Clayton.

Oscar Angel earned the win for the Rattlers (2-2) in what Montano called "an amazing outing" from him. He allowed three earned runs and struck out 11 in a complete game.

Nick Goen scored four runs and drove in three during a 3-for-3 day at the plate, including a home run.

"We started off a bit slow, but we picked it up midway," Montano said. "We had a few guys missing, so our lineup had a some new faces. Trip Payne came up huge with a four-RBI day ... huge showing on his part."

Josh Griego went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, a triple and three runs scored. Juano Martinez added an RBI on a double.

The Yellowjackets (1-2) burned through three pitchers, allowing a total of 11 hits, nine walks and five hit batters.

A second game was scheduled at Clayton, but only three innings were completed before the game was called on account of darkness. Tucumcari had a 3-0 lead in that one; it is not an official result.