After making it an annual May ritual to play in the New Mexico Class 2A state baseball championships, McCurdy is looking toward taking that next step beyond simply being there.
“Our expectations are a state title,” coach Ian Maestas said. “We have come up empty the last few years in a row. But there is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t be in contention. The seniors are hungry for that state title.”
The Bobcats count seven seniors on the roster, most of whom have been getting steady play for several seasons.
“Most of these guys have been playing on this team since they were in eighth grade,” Maestas said. “They’ve been to the state tournament four years now. A lot of experience behind these boys. They’re strong leaders and they’re literally the heart and soul of the team.”
McCurdy succeeds through a lethal combination of timely hitting and speedy base running. Last year’s squad swiped 128 bases in 28 games, an average of more than 4.5 a game. And almost all of those speedsters are back, led by senior center fielder/pitcher Jeremaya Roybal.
“We tend to wreak havoc on the bases,” Maestas said. “We put a lot of pressure on pitchers. We had the state runs scoring leader last year and a couple of years ago, we had the state stolen base leader. We get on the bags, we create a lot of pressure.”
And that speed comes into play in more than just stealing bases, it means taking extra bases and rattling pitchers and causing issues for fielders.
“We stretch singles into doubles often,” Maestas said. “We tend to cause troubles, especially for those younger pitchers who aren’t used to that pressure. Sometimes they just don’t know how to handle that speed and aggression.”
Early in this season, nearly half of the Bobcats hits have gone for extra bases.
Having a strong offense is a good thing because the McCurdy pitching staff will need to improve its performance from last season if it expects to advance deep into the playoffs.
But Maestas fully expects the staff, led by seniors Roybal, Carlos Garcia and Cruz Martinez, to take that necessary next step.
“They all can throw multiple pitches depending on who we’re facing,” Maestas said. “For instance, we were playing Pecos the other day and I noticed that they weren’t hitting the fastball well. So I told them, ‘Just gas ’em up.’”
Maestas is particularly expecting a big season out of Roybal.
“This kid is playing at a high level, which we need him to do this year,” the coach said. “He’s got younger guys in left and right so he’s literally the general out there. He’s been making unbelievable plays, but it’s not surprising to us because we’ve seen him do this since he was an eighth grader.”
The team’s confidence is high that this is the year the Bobcats will leave their mark. The team has never won a state championship, although McCurdy reached the state title game in 2015 and 2016.
“I definitely agree with him,” Roybal said of those state championship expectations. “I feel like we can win it all. We’re trying to work toward that goal.”
While the seniors form the backbone of the team, he said it’s going to take everybody performing at their best to carry off the blue trophy.
“I think we have to play as a team,” Roybal said. “We have to limit our mistakes when it comes to the tournament and have all nine guys playing to a high level.”
But seeing the younger players coming in and grabbing a role has been exciting and adds to the team’s confidence, he said.
“It’s been awesome seeing these guys,” Roybal said. “Every time I see a class graduating, a new group comes up and plays to another, higher level. I think we play with lots of confidence and we have a lot of fun. That’s what has helped us the past five years.”