Little mistakes added up to a big loss for McCurdy, and the end of the career of a storied head coach.
Early missed opportunities haunted the Bobcats, and their defense faltered as Rehoboth Christian (19-7) scored in every inning as they defeated McCurdy (18-5) 14-5 in the state quarterfinals on May 11 at the Jennifer Riordan baseball complex in Albuquerque.
The game is likely the last for longtime McCurdy coach Roberto DeVargas, who planned for this year to be his last season coaching the Bobcats.
“It’s mixed emotions,” DeVargas said. “We’re done with baseball, but somebody else will be taking over, and I get to watch.”
It was the third-straight year that McCurdy had lost to Rehoboth Christian in the state quarterfinals. This year, though, they seemed to have the most confidence after a close loss last season and a strong finish to the regular season.
“We’re shocked, honestly,” senior Adrian Maestas said after the game. “I don’t really know any other emotion to describe it.”
McCurdy’s normally-strong offense struggled to string together baserunners, and finished the day with just five hits — they had a team batting average of just .192 compared to .467 for the season. They also stranded a runner on third base with no outs in two of the first three innings.
A discrepancy on the team’s scoring highlights McCurdy’s fielding troubles — the Rehoboth Christian scorebook logged seven runners reaching on McCurdy errors.
Thomas Bolton led off the game with a walk, then a single by Tino Salazar and a passed ball put runners on second and third base. But Bolton was thrown out at home on a flyout, and the first inning ended without a run scored. Though it looked promising early for McCurdy’s lineup, they could not find much more success later in the game.
Rehoboth Christian scored their first two runs in the bottom of the first on a double, single and double. They added another on a squeeze bunt in the second inning, and three more runs in the third inning.
In the top of the third, Thomas Bolton hit a ground-rule double, and Tino Salazar reached third base and brought in two runs with a base hit and a throwing error on the play, putting at the time the tying run on third base with no outs. But the Bobcats’ heart of the order could not bring Salazar home or extend the inning.
Down 7-3 in the bottom of the fifth, McCurdy’s defense cost them further. One batter reached first base on a strikeout, and an error with two outs led to a five-run inning.
“When you bobble a ball, or misjudge a fly, and you give them extra outs, it’s tough,” DeVargas said.
Damian Quezada pitched the first four innings, and Markus Martinez finished the game.
Rehoboth Christian also had a boon on the basepaths, logging 14 steals in the game, often putting runners in scoring position and taking away force plays.
The Lynx went on to upset top-seeded Santa Rosa with a 7-0 semifinal win, then lost to No. 7 Tularosa 6-3 in the final.
McCurdy graduates five seniors from the team, including three starters and team leaders in Martinez, Maestas and Quezada. But the younger team members including Bolton and Salazar should continue to succeed, even without DeVargas.
“There’s no reload, there’s just regroup,” DeVargas said. “Win another district title, and come to state, win a state title.”