In 2021, McCurdy lost a state quarterfinal game to Rehoboth Christian, 6-3.
In 2022, McCurdy lost a state quarterfinal game to Rehoboth Christian, 9-5.
This year, the Bobcats will get a third shot at taking down the Lynx in a state quarterfinal game. And though they claimed to have been focused on one game at a time, it was clear they were licking their lips at the potential second-round matchup.
“Time to get our revenge,” sophomore Tino Salazar said.
“We want to get our get-back,” junior Lucas Martinez added.
The No. 5 seed Bobcats (18-4) took down No. 12 Mora (9-13) at home in the first round of the state. McCurdy won 16-6, walking off with a run-rule victory in the bottom of the sixth inning. Their bats took life for 16 runs on 18 hits against Mora’s pitchers.
The No. 4 seed Lynx had a bye in the first round.
It was the final game that Roberto DeVargas will coach at McCurdy’s field, now named after him, after 17 years there. It’s a special field, with very little if any grass even in the outside. And DeVargas said they like to keep the infield as clean as possible, so it plays faster and turns hard-hit grounders into hits.
“It’s mixed emotions, it really is,” DeVargas said after the game, as “Taking Care of Business” played on speakers in the dugout after the win.
“It’s been fun, it has been fun,” he said. “I love this field.”
Damian Quezada pitched the first 4.2 innings, allowing six runs (only three earned). Markus Martinez took over for the final 1.1 and was scoreless.
McCurdy struck first in the bottom of the first for two runs, starting with a sacrifice fly from Markus Martinez. Mora added two in the second, but McCurdy answered with a pair of their own. Salazar hit a single up the middle, then it rolled under the centerfielder and all the way to the wall as Salazar rounded the bases for a pseudo-home run.
By the second time through the order, McCurdy had no trouble timing up the offspeed pitch from Mora’s starter, and made hard contact. McCurdy had practiced offspeed pitches leading up to the game, which worked out perfectly. The Bobcats dominated in the third inning, with the first seven batters reaching on three doubles, two singles and a walk, and eight runs scored in the inning as McCurdy opened up a 12-3 lead.
Mora added a few more runs on fielding miscues by McCurdy. DeVargas said they will have to clean up their fielding before their next game.
But McCurdy added two more runs in the fifth inning, though they stranded the winning run on third. In the sixth, Salazar scored, advanced on a stolen base and wild pitch, then scored the game-ending run on a very shallow sacrifice fly.
And in the sixth inning, when Markus Martinez had a meeting on the mound after a walk, the first-baseman Salazar lightened the mood by jokingly “helping” to place the ball into the pitcher’s glove. Markus kept a big smile on his face for the rest of the game.
Lucas Martinez went 4-for-4 for McCurdy with three RBIs — DeVargas said he made an adjustment with his feet — and Salazar was 4-for-4 with a sacrifice fly.
McCurdy’s game against Rehoboth Christian will come on May 11, giving the pitchers plenty of time to rest up. The semifinals will be the next day, and the finals the day after that. The remaining state tournament games will be at a neutral site in Albuquerque at the Jennifer Riordan Sports Complex.
“We’re due,” DeVargas said. “I like that matchup.”