The Española Valley Sundevils picked up two badly-needed District 2AAAA wins April 17 by sweeping a doubleheader from Capital High School.
The first of the two wins, by scores of 12-2 and 13-1, snapped the Sundevils’ four-game losing streak.
“We not only needed to win them, we were expected to win them,” Española coach Anthony Alarid said.
Española is in third place at 5-3 in District 2AAAA. The Jaguars fell to 1-6 and fourth place in district play.
“If we play solid defense for seven innings, we’re going to win those ball games,” Alarid said.
The Sundevils had started district play with three straight wins, but dropped a doubleheader to Los Alamos April 10 and fell to Bernalillo 11-7 April 14. Los Alamos is in first place in district play with a 7-0 record followed by Bernalillo at 5-1.
Española had led 6-5 going into the fifth inning against the Spartans, but Bernalillo scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning and held off Española the rest of the way.
“We need to overcome the mental aspect of the game,” Alarid said. “We make an error and the guy gets down on himself or the other players start hanging their heads. On the next play, they’re not prepared to field the ball.”
Española rebounded against the Jaguars, ending both games of the doubleheader after five innings under the 10-run mercy rule.
In the opening game, the Sundevils led 11-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning when Ricky Gomzalez led off with a base hit and scored on a hit by Sean Salazar for the game-ending run. Gonzalez was the winning pitcher, tossing a complete game.
In the second game, the Jaguars took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Española came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Jesus Chavez led off with a double and scored on a base hit by Stevan Trujillo. After stealing second base and advancing to third base on a balk, Trujillo scored on a grounder to the shortstop by Corey Atencio to give the Sundevils a 2-1 lead.
The Sundevils blew open the game in the bottom of the third inning. Española loaded the bases on two hits and a walk. Salazar then stroked a single to right field that skipped under the right fielder’s glove and rolled all the way to the fence. Salazar circled the bases and slid safely home. He lobbied the coaches for an inside-the-park home run, but it was scored as a single and a three-base error.
Española would add six more runs in the inning, sending 13 batters to the plate and taking a 12-1 lead. Española added a run in the bottom of the fourth inning and held Capital scoreless in the top of the fifth inning to take a 13-1 victory.
Luis Acosta pitched the first three innings for Española and picked up the victory. Greg Serna came on in relief and shut out the Jaguars over the final two innings.
“If we get good pitching and don’t make mistakes, we have a good chance to win,” Alarid said. “Offensively, we’re going to put the ball in play.”
Española faced Grants Monday in a non-district game and faces Taos Wednesday (4/21) in District 2AAAA play. The Tigers are 0-8 in district play. Española plays Santa Fe High School Saturday in another non-district game.
The Sundevils need a strong showing down the stretch in order to earn a spot next month in the Class AAAA state tournament. Only the champions from the six Class AAAA districts are guaranteed places in the 16-team field; the rest of the state qualifying teams will need to secure at-large berths.
Española’s remaining games against nondistrict foes have added importance because its district has no teams ranked in top 10 statewide.
“Even though (Grants and Santa Fe) are nondistrict games, they’re still very important in terms of the seeding at state,” Alarid said.