Bobcats take 9-game winning streak into first round of state
Despite being ranked fourth in Class 2A in the MaxPreps rankings, going undefeated in District 2-2A and riding a seven-game winning streak, the McCurdy Charter School baseball team needed to make one more statement.
Actually, they needed to make two — that’s because the visiting Magdalena High School Steers traveled to Española for the Bobcats’ final two games of the season for a doubleheader on May 2, and McCurdy needed every last good impression to improve its seed in the 2019 Baseball State Championships Class 2A bracket.
They did just that, and after their sweep of Magdalena in wins of 11-1 and 8-3 (6 ½ innings due to darkness), McCurdy head coach Roberto DeVargas said his team deserved to be seeded anywhere from fourth to seventh, and the New Mexico Activities Association awarded the Bobcats the sixth-seed in the 16-team field after the selection process took place on May 5.
McCurdy will host No. 11 Loving High School (6-15) at 4 p.m., Wednesday (5/8).
DeVargas knew that sweeping the Steers was crucial to his team’s eventual placement in the field.
“It was very important because if we would have split with those guys, they (NMAA) would have said, “OK, McCurdy that’s where they should be at (lower seed),’” he said. “Sweeping them and not letting them score many runs was very helpful.”
After being exposed to a combined record of 8-19-1 between Tierra Encantada Charter School and Desert Academy during the course of district play, the Bobcats proved early they were ready for a new challenge, but the results closely mirrored the same of what had happened during their seven-game winning streak.
The game 1 11-1 win over Magdalena took just five innings to complete but was all but over after the second. That’s because McCurdy took full advantage of Steers’ starting pitcher Kyle Julian — who lasted no longer than an inning after walking the first three batters he faced and surrendering four earned runs before being pulled for Isaac Lopez.
Lopez managed to get Magdalena out of the inning with no further damage, but after the Steers again went scoreless in the top half of the second, McCurdy exploded in the bottom of the frame for seven more earned runs, highlighted by an RBI triple by Nicholas Croff.
The two Steers’ pitchers combined to mostly throw fastballs, allowing McCurdy’s batters to time the pitches for better results.
“It gave us a lot of confidence and we were able to wait for a strike,” DeVargas said. “It tells me guys are seeing the ball real well and they’re waiting for their pitch.”
Overall, the Bobcats recorded five hits in the second and it was all they needed to coast the rest of the way before the early ending.
The team finished with nine RBIs and nine hits, and Ubaldo Barela and A.J. Vallo combined for nine strikeouts, one hit allowed and one earned run from the mound.
Game 2 was much closer — at least for a while. Caught in a somewhat unfamiliar situation of being in a tight game, McCurdy responded positively by scoring three and two runs in the fourth and fifth innings to break open a 3-2 lead.
Paul Maestas, Diego Borrego and Vallo all contributed to the lead increase by recording RBIs in the fourth and Mekelis Talachy hit an RBI triple to send home Croff in the fifth before Santiago Samora hit the final RBI of the day to increase the lead to the final score of 8-3.
“It was good to see where we were at and who was ready to respond,” DeVargas said about playing a more competitive game.”
Certainly, ready to respond is McCurdy’s core group of seniors — a year older and a year more experienced — who will try to avenge last season’s opening round home loss to Laguna Acoma.
The Hawks ascended toward a 15-11 victory last May after senior Xavier Gutierrez hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, capping off 10 runs scored in the frame to erase the Bobcats’ 7-3 lead.
“Last year, I don’t think we took it for granted or said, ‘You know, we’re at home we got this,’ but maybe we did,” DeVargas said. “I don’t know and I’m not sure, but when they hit that grand slam, that just took the air out of our sails.”
This year’s first round opponent in Loving has gone 2-10 in road games this season.