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Thursday, April 10, 2008

Passed Ball Ends Game

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
    Moriarty High freshman Morgan McWilliams and Belen's Catherine Baca duked it out in a classic pitchers' battle on Tuesday.
    But Lady Pintos catcher Rigney Turnham— after getting in scoring position with the only extra-base hit of the contest— was the deciding factor. She sprinted home from third base on a passed ball in the seventh inning to give Moriarty a thrilling 1-0 District 5-4A softball win over the visiting Eagles.
    "Oh my gosh, it was crazy," said Turnham, a 5-foot-5 junior. "I was headed home, and she (Baca) was like sitting on the plate (as she awaited the throw from Belen catcher Andrea Gabaldon). I had to reach over her to score."
    Eagles coach Ken Zamora immediately came out of the dugout to argue that the ball, pitched to Moriarty's Teresa Romero, had been tipped. But Zamora's plea, after the plate umpire conferred with his officiating companion, was to no avail.
    Turnham, who was 1-for-3, got her standup double as the leadoff batter in the bottom of the inning. The fly ball arched into the gap in left-center field.
    "I don't know what kind of pitch it was, but I liked it," she said. "I swung, and it felt good."
    But Baca didn't make it easy. She subsequently struck out Rheanna Smith looking and Marie Aultman swinging before Romero came to the plate.
    "We want some revenge now," said Baca, a 5-4 senior, after the game.
    Baca amassed 14 strikeouts in the contest, walked one, hit a batter and gave up three hits. Meanwhile, McWilliams earned 10 Ks, walked two and allowed three hits.
    "I think Morgan pitched her rear end off," said Pintos coach Brett McWilliams, Morgan's father. "It was a real good game. She didn't pitch like a freshman, I don't think. She's very mature for her years."
    The victory provided Moriarty sole possession of first place in district. The Pintos are 4-0 in 5-4A.
    "Right now, it looks like it's us three (Belen, St. Pius and Moriarty)," Brett McWilliams said. "But Del Norte was 2-1 (prior to Tuesday)."
    The Eagles (8-5, 2-2) and Pius split in their doubleheader at the Sartans' field on Saturday.
    Pintos senior Sonya Chavez was 1-for-2 with a stolen base. Romero, also a senior, also was 1-for-2.
    Baca paced her team with the bat as well. She was 2-for-3.
    "Our defense played pretty well, but our hitting ... We hadn't seen solid pitching in a while," Brett McWilliams said. "Catherine is a good pitcher, but we got 19 runs on her last year. Our hitting wasn't there."
    Belen loaded the bases in the fifth inning on Baca's base hit off a liner into right. The Eagles were helped by a walk and a Moriarty error.
    But Morgan McWilliams withstood the test.
    Belen's Justine Gallegos hit a grounder to McWilliams, and the pitcher tossed it back to Turnham for the force. Pinto senior second-baseman Kathleen Nixon then snagged a liner from Tomasita Smith for the third out.
    "It's just more stressful with the bases loaded," said Morgan, who is 5-5. "It was an incredible game."
    Moriarty had a chance in the fourth inning. Chavez got on base with a walk and then stole second before McWilliam's sacrifice bunt— resulting in the second out— moved Chavez to third.
    But Baca came through. She struck out Turnham to send the Pintos back out on defense.
    Moriarty (9-4), on a six-game winning streak, also beat Grants 10-0 in six innings and 12-0 in five during a district twinbill at the Pintos' field on Saturday.
   
Estancia
    The Lady Bears (4-9) defeated Jemez Valley 18-8 in a District 2/1A-2A game at the Warriors' field on Tuesday.
    Desirae Ortiz was the winning pitcher. Estancia's Jamie Montoya smashed a legitimate inside-the-park home run, and her teammate, Alicia Ortega had a triple.
    "We played well (Tuesday), played six solid innings," Bears coach Michael Dominguez said. "We finished it in six."
    Estancia is now 1-1 in district.
    "I really challenged the girls after that (19-17 district) loss to East Mountain (at EHS on April 1), challenged them to play with maturity and step up," Dominguez said. "And they played well. They did step up."
    Class 3A Laguna-Acoma beat the Bears 17-6 on Estancia's diamond on April 3.
   
East Mountain
    The Lady Timberwolves beat up on Tucumcari 12-2 and 14-4 on Saturday, and sailed past the Sandia Prep junior varsity 18-6 and 19-3 on Tuesday in a pair of nondistrict doubleheaders at Vista Grande Community Center.
    It was unclear whether both games in each doubleheader were varsity games for EMHS, or whether one was varsity and the other was played by the T'Wolves' JV.
    East Mountain coach Denise Whipple did not immediately return the Telegraph's phone calls which sought clarification.
   
Manzano
    The Lady Monarchs (4-12, 2-1) defeated visiting Rio Grande 9-1 in a District 5-5A game on Tuesday.
    Los Lunas edged Manzano 4-3 in a district game at the Purple Pride's field on April 3.