On an afternoon where the McCurdy Charter School Bobcats were supposed to host the Pecos High School Panthers for a doubleheader, only one game was played — and it just happened to go to extra innings.
It was a back-and-forth affair, but the Bobcats outlasted the Panthers, 12-11 in 10 innings for their third straight victory.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, McCurdy hit a ball toward Pecos third baseman Christian Tanuz, who corralled it, but overthrew the ball to first base, which allowed Nikko Valdez to head to home for the winning run.
“They came with a lot of heart and persevered and they never gave up,” McCurdy head coach Roberto DeVargas said. “I always told them we were one hit away from winning this game, lets just do it again.”
Pecos went up 1-0 after the first inning, thanks to a wild pitch from McCurdy pitcher A.J. Vallo, which allowed Michael Valencia to score.
He would rebound strong though, as the junior helped the Bobcats build a 5-2 lead through the fourth inning, behind his 11 strikeouts.
However, momentum switched in the fifth inning, as Pecos was able to rally off three runs. Vallo gave up three hits and a walk, before he was replaced on the mound by Kemmer Croff.
Croff was able to escape the inning with no further damage and held the score tied at five.
“At the fifth inning, I could tell I was slowly going down,” Vallo said. “I pulled coach aside and told him I don’t want to make it worse than what it already is. But, that’s what your team is for. We came back and just never gave up.”
After seeing their 5-2 lead disappear, McCurdy entered the seventh inning trailing 6-5.
Pecos had a perfect start to the inning, as Mario Archuleta and Derrick Romero got on base early. Carlos Cordova brought both home with a two-run RBI double to extend the Panthers’ lead to 8-5, heading into the bottom of the seventh.
If the Bobcats were to answer, they needed something special to happen — and they got it from Vallo.
He crushed a fly ball out to center field and the Pecos outfielders were unable to secure it. He began to run the bases, and as he approached third, DeVargas signaled him to continue to home plate. The throw toward home would not come close and Vallo completed the inside-the-park home run.
“It felt like I was running so slow and I never thought I was going to make it home,” Vallo said. “We really needed it, though.”
The momentum spark from Vallo’s play was followed by two different RBI doubles by Josh Esquibel and Croff, to tie the game at eight apiece, heading into the first extra inning.
The teams would each score one run in the eighth and go scoreless in the ninth, before McCurdy capitalized on Pecos’s errors in the 10th.
They were able to get the win in the end, but DeVargas was not shy about stressing the Bobcats’ own mistakes.
“Guys, we need to take care of those mental mistakes,” he told his team after the game, as they huddled around first base. “I can mention all those mistakes now, because we won the game. Now we know what mistakes will hurt us going forward.”
DeVargas explained that part of the reason his team hasn’t been as sharp, is because of the lack of games they have played.
They have had two doubleheaders canceled, and now another game against Pecos. DeVargas said he will work on scheduling a make-up game.
“I’ll talk to the athletic directors, but I would want to schedule it here of course,” he said. “Our guys don’t care where we have to play, though. If we have to play a doubleheader over there (Pecos), then we will. We have a good team.”