After winning 18 of its last 19 games heading into the Class 2A New Mexico state baseball tournament’s opening round last week, McCurdy was looking at making a deep post season run.
But it was not to be as the Bobcats dropped a wild, 11-10 game at Raton, giving up two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
“I walked away from the game, looking back at and trying to break it down on the bus ride home, there really isn’t a thing more that we could have done,” McCurdy coach Ian Maestas said. “There were some baseball plays that might not have gone in our favor, but it was an exceptionally well-played game by both teams. I couldn’t be more proud of my boys.”
The Bobcats (19-6) fell behind 6-2 after four innings, putting up zeroes in both the second and third innings, which ultimately turned out to be pivotal to the final result.
“We had a little bit of trouble stranding runners in the second and third innings, but we were able to get our bats going in the fourth and we managed to chip away,” Maestas said. “That two-inning stretch when they shut out us out turned out to hurt us.”
Still, McCurdy tied it up with a four-run rally in the fifth inning, then scored three more in the sixth to take a three-run lead.
But that lead slipped away when the Tigers scored three in its half of the inning.
That sent the game into the final inning tied at 9-all.
“It’s the way baseball is supposed to be played,” Maestas said of the tense affair. “It was fantastic.”
The Bobcats scored once in the top of the seventh, but they couldn’t hold back Raton’s relentless offense.
“Anybody who knows anything about baseball knows those last three outs are the hardest to get,” Maestas said. “We were facing the bottom of the order, but those kids just came through for their team. The Raton boys came through for their team late and all credit to them for being able to stick it out.”
And really, he said, all the credit to the Bobcats, as well, who scratched and clawed their way throughout the game.
Senior Cruz Martinez had three hits, scored three runs and drove in two, senior Tino Salazar-Archuleta hit two doubles and scored twice and senior Carlos Garcia on had one hit, but he had three steals.
For McCurdy, this game capped the career of a cadre of six seniors, most of whom have been playing varsity since they were eighth graders and have been a part of five consecutive district champs, while leading the team to a 16-0 5-2A record this season.
“Our team has been led by a group of experienced seniors this year and these boys don’t have any quit in them,” Maestas said. “This was another very successful season. Those boys had to go out and earn those 19 wins. Nobody handed it to us. I told them, ‘You guys did all the work, you deserve all the credit.’ They went and executed day in and day out.”
Fellow seniors Jeremaya Roybal, D’metrius Martinez and Taden Sisneros also wrapped up their careers.
“That’s going to a big hit to the core of the team,” Maestas said. “Those boys have been with me since they were really young. Their experience showed in a game like that. Those guys were the heart and soul. It came down the very last play of the game. Senior on the bump, senior at first base and those boys came up a little bit short. That’s all that happened.”
Now the Bobcats look forward to starting another run of success with new players.
“I’m excited for our younger guys coming up,” he said. “We’ll push and help them grow. There will be some ups and downs but by the end of the season, we’ll see how good their season was. I’m anxious to be around younger boys who are eager to learn. It’s going to be fun. I’m already looking forward to next year.”