The Peñasco Panthers pounced on the unsuspecting McCurdy Bobcats April 23, pounding out 13 runs to take a 13-10 victory.
“We’re still in it,” McCurdy coach Roberto DeVargas said of the District 2A-AA race. “Peñasco had more hits and fewer errors than we did.”
Peñasco junior Andrew Romero tossed seven gutsy innings against the Bobcats for the complete game victory, striking out two batters in the bottom of the seventh inning to preserve the win.
“I feel great, yeah,” Romero shouted at the end of the game. “We all feel great.”
McCurdy had delivered sound beatings in the teams’ two previous match-ups, by a combined score of 31-4. Peñasco was trailing again 5-2 when it began to chip away at the Bobcats’ lead in the top of the fourth inning.
With two outs, Peñasco produced a run off a single by Ryan Martinez, an error and a single by Ian Quintana. Romero’s single scored another run to make the score 5-4.
Martinez and Quintana, Peñasco’s eighth and ninth hitters, provided the fireworks for the Panthers in those early innings, going a combined 4-for-4 at the plate.
“They showed the rest of them how to do it and it was contagious,” Peñasco coach Henry Lopez said.
After McCurdy went ahead 6-4 in the bottom of the fourth, the meat of the Panther lineup started pulling its weight. Jacob Sandoval, Peñasco’s second batter in the lineup, led off the fifth with a triple to initiate a four-run streak that gave the Panthers the lead.
The Bobcats rallied in the sixth, when Fernando Avila reached base on an error and Gavin Cata doubled. Josh Lovato brought two runs home with a base hit, and McCurdy led 10-9 going into the final inning.
In the top of the seventh, Quintana singled with one out — his fourth hit of the game. He stole second and scored on an error. With Panther runners on first and second, Bobcat pitcher Josh Lovato walked Joseph Gurulé intentionally. The strategy backfired when Steven Archuleta singled to score Sandoval; Gurulé later scored on an error.
Peñasco had its 13-10 lead, and McCurdy’s scoring attempts in the seventh were futile.
The Bobcats fell to 2-2 in district play, while the Panthers improved to 2-2. Peñasco, coming off a 19-0 spanking by the Questa Wildcats, put itself back into contention in the district race.
“Nine guys showed up for practice and I told them they would play,” Lopez said. “They played and they played their hearts out.”
Questa leads the district with a 4-0 record.
McCurdy took on Mesa Vista Tuesday and wraps up its regular season by hosting Questa Thursday (4/30). Questa defeated McCurdy 5-1 April 16 in Questa.
Only the district champion and runner-up will advance to the state baseball tournament. There are no at-large teams in Class A-AA.