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Robertson catcher Miguel Jauregui, left, tags out Cobre’s Regan Ramos during their game at St. Michael’s on Saturday. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)
With wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour kicking up the infield dirt, visibility was certainly an issue – and the near-freezing temperatures didn’t help much either.
But the prevailing thought for Cobre Indians first baseman Regan Ramos, was this: “We had to deal with it as they did,” he said.
And how the smallest school of the eight-team field at the fifth annual Jim Pierce Memorial Tournament dealt with the less-than ideal conditions was by convincingly winning a battle of attrition against Class 3A Robertson (6-2).
The 2A Indians (4-4) broke a 6-all tie with an eight-run sixth inning to earn the tournament title with a 14-6 victory on Saturday at St. Michael’s High. Ramos singled in the eventual game-winning run to finish the contest 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
“We fought for this,” Ramos said. “Whenever our team got down, I tried my best to pick them up – and we came through.”
Cobre’s Chris Molina (8) slides into second as Robertson second baseman Mike Salazar reaches for the ball Saturday. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)
The Cardinals struck first, scoring two runs in their initial at-bat off a fielder’s choice by Collin Pedro before the Indians evened the contest in the bottom of the second inning. Ramos then put Cobre ahead 4-2 in its next at-bat with a two-run triple, with the Indians tacking on two more scores in the fourth inning to lead 6-2.
Robertson, however, wouldn’t trail for long. The Cardinals countered with a four-run fifth inning, which began with a solo home run by Miguel Jauregui. Pedro followed with a two-run double, and Dominic Lucero capped off the scoring with an RBI double.
But Robertson would suffer a sixth-inning meltdown, which resulted in four errors, three unearned runs and the ejection of an assistant coach.
“We never gave up,” Robertson coach Kenneth Sandoval said, “but we also didn’t handle the close calls too well and got a little emotional. … Come May and come districts, we have to learn to do our talking with our gloves and our bats and not let the calls get to us because that’s baseball.”
Along with Ramos, driving in runs for Cobre in its decisive inning were Tre Sanchez, who recorded two RBIs, and Jordan Benfield and Chris Molina, who had one run batted in apiece.
Willie Fletcher then entered the game for the Indians, tossing a scoreless seventh inning in a non-save situation to seal the win. Tre Sanchez, who entered the game in the fifth, earned the victory, allowing one run off two hits in two innings of work. Robertson’s Nathan Archuleta was saddled with the loss, giving up eight runs off three hits through 1â…” innings.
IN THE CONSOLATION ROUNDS: Silver topped Bloomfield, 8-0, in the third-place game; the Horsemen defeated Bernalillo, 7-0, for fifth place; and Silver claimed seventh with a 6-4 victory over Raton.
NOTE: The title game of the Lady Horsemen Invitational Softball Tournament between St. Mike’s and Bernalillo has been postponed because of inclement weather. The championship game will be played at St. Mike’s on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
