Lady Horsemen befuddle WLV

Valdez, St. Michael’s No. 2 starter, isn’t known for blowing pitches by batters at will. Her game is based on placement, ball movement and getting batters to hit the ball – directly to her teammates, that is. She is the change-of-pace pitcher to St. Michael’s ace, the hard throwing Viola Pecos, and both Valdez and her coach, Roseanne Noedel, knew that in order to slow the previously undefeated Lady Dons, St. Mike’s would have to catch to visiting squad off guard.

“We stayed after yesterday and watched them – they were so good against fast pitching,” Valdez said. “So I knew coach would bring me in – it must have been a shocker for them.”

And it was.

St. Michael’s Viola Pecos hits a two-run triple against West Las Vegas in Santa Fe on Friday. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)

The top three batters in the lineup for the Lady Dons lineup combined for just one hit through seven innings, which allowed the Lady Horsemen to deliver WLV (5-1) its first loss of the season. St. Mike’s (4-4) won 5-4 on Friday in the semifinals of the Lady Horsemen Invitational. The Lady Horsemen rallied from a 2-0 first-inning deficit, with five runs in the next two innings for the win.

“This was the best game we’ve played all year,” Noedel said. “… I think they would have loved Viola’s pitches … but our game plan was to keep them off-balanced.

“Viola is also a really strong outfielder, so, in case they do hit, I knew we would be all right – and we were.”

Pecos paced the Lady Horsemen at the plate, going 2-for-4, including a two-RBI triple in the second inning to even the game. Allie Berhost then drove in the go-ahead run in the third inning with double, followed by an RBI double by Valeria Catanach, which would be the eventual game-winner.

Marissa Cordova, who suffered the loss, was chased by Sarah Gold after the third inning. Gold tossed three scoreless innings for a no-decision.

“We had trouble with their slow pitcher – but they had trouble when we put ours in,” WLV coach Lucas Griego said. “… At this stage of the season, we’re just working on getting our hitters to hit the slow pitchers just as well as the fast pitchers. We’ll just keep at it and see how that goes.”

WLV did rally in the sixth inning, scoring two runs on two hits to pull to within a score. But WLV stranded three runners to end the threat.

“I was just focusing on the batter, getting strikes and keeping the ball low so we can get grounders or pop flies,” said Valdez, who induced a fly-out after loading the bases with two out to end the at-bat.

As for today’s 4 p.m. championship matchup between St. Mike’s and the Bernalillo Spartans – who routed Pojoaque Valley, 9-0, in the other semifinal game – Valdez said: “I think we have a good-enough defense to stop them, and our bats will come around because we’re good with fast pitchers.”

In the consolation round, Española Valley topped Albuquerque Academy, 13-3, to advance to today’s fifth-place game at noon against Robertson, which defeated Capital 11-10. The Chargers and Jaguars will play for seventh place at 10 a.m. The third-place game featuring the Elkettes and Lady Dons is at 2 p.m., followed by the title game at 4 p.m.

BASEBALL

ROBERTSON 5, SILVER 4: At the fifth annual Jim Pierce Memorial Tournament, Robertson coach Kenneth Sandoval said he rode a complete wave of emotions en route to today’s championship game against Cobre.

The Cardinals led 4-0 after three innings, but allowed four runs – including a three-run blast by Fighting Colts slugger Dominic Demarco in the sixth inning – in the final two innings, setting the stage for a dramatic final at-bat.

“We started well, but we were up and down all game,” Sandoval said. “I’m just so proud that the kids hung in there and showed some character. This was a good win.”

The Cardinals opened the bottom of the seventh inning with Ryan Tafoya and Nathan Archuleta each reaching base. The pair then advanced to second and third, respectively, before Colin Pedro laid down a sacrifice bunt to seal the win.

Robertson will play an Indians squad that defeated Bloomfield, 5-1, in the other semifinal matchup.

In the consolation round, Bernalillo defeated Raton, 12-4, and the Horsemen topped Santa Fe, 10-5. The Spartans and Horsemen will play today at 11:15 a.m. in the fifth-place game, while the Tigers and Demons square off at 9 p.m. in the seventh-place game. Silver and Bloomfield square off at 1:30 p.m. for third place, followed by the title game at 4 p.m.

ST. MICHAEL’S 5, WEST LAS VEGAS 4