Weather, other elements work against Ignacio 

If one were an Ignacio fan, one could have pointed one’s finger at just about anything one desired, to explain how the Bobcats didn’t depart Dolores with a 2A/1A San Juan Basin League win Saturday afternoon, April 11. 

First of all, there was the weather; neither side would have disputed that, with the game-time air temperature barely in the 40s and constant wind which, aided by a steady drizzle that delayed the 12 p.m. start by 13 minutes, chilled things down into the 30s before the sun at last peeked through the dreary clouds and at least illuminated the event’s latter stages. 

Secondly, there were some rulings which left Bobcat backers as well as IHS players and coaches all but questioning just which sport was being played before their very eyes. One call took a sure RBI-knock, ripped down the right-field line in the top of the sixth inning and appearing to clip just enough of the chalk extending beyond the infield, away from freshman Zackariah Loudenburg and denying Ignacio a regained 8-7 lead. 

Another ruling held that a Joseph Atencio pitch plunked a DHS batter, which wouldn’t have been so much a shock – starter Gabe Archuleta plus relievers Stephen Romero, Atencio and Sonny Flores combined to bean eight Bears – if not for the fact that the delivery bounced four feet in front of home plate. And in the bottom of the bonus eighth inning, no less, with IHS having just scratched out a go-ahead tenth run in the frame’s top half. 

Beneficiary of the bizarre call, Dolores senior Deven Winter then stole second base. Atencio then legitimately tagged sophomore leadoff man Branson Lee, and Flores was brought in to pitch. He promptly hit junior Levi Hampton, who’d started the game on the deteriorating mound for the Bears, to load the bases. Flores managed to get junior Augustus ‘Gus’ Vaughn to bounce back to the hill and flicked the ball to catcher Archuleta to retire Winter. 

But with the sacks still packed via the fielder’s choice, junior first baseman Declan Warren then threaded a single through the left side of IHS’ drawn-in infield, plating both Lee and Hampton and securing a wet-n-wacky 11-10 victory upon their diamond at Joe Rowell Park. 

Hamstrung by both pitch-count rules – a slated 4/13 SJBL doubleheader versus Dove Creek wasn’t doing head coach Isiah Valdez and his assistants any favors – as well as a left-foot injury sidelining senior first baseman/pitcher Stoney White Thunder-Lucero, the Bobcats actually began the 3-hour, 8-minute contest in fine fashion, with Archuleta bashing Hampton’s very first pitch for an opposite-field double to deep right, then scoring on William Mendoza-Lechuga’s subsequent single to left. 

Mendoza-Lechuga then scored via a Flores single and the ’Cats led 2-0 after half an inning. Lee and Hampton (ND; 3.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, HB, 7 K), however, quickly tied the game at 2-2 when both came around via freshman third baseman Kooper Thomas’ single up the middle. And whereas Ignacio left two runners on base, Dolores (3-6 overall, 3-1 SJBL) left three – hinting that, considering the conditions, offense might overshadow defense. 

Neither side scored in the second inning, but Valdez elected to pull Archuleta (ND; 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HB) early in the third to save as many of the senior’s pitches for the coming Bulldogs. Each team then scored two third-inning runs, IHS’ via a two-run Loudenburg double, and the ’Cats kept the developing pace up with two more in the fourth to lead 6-4. 

Romero then fanned DHS’ Hayden Lancaster and Orin Samulski to preserve the advantage, having stranded Warren at third base and Thomas at second. But after Ignacio failed to score in the top of the fifth, the Bears got to Romero (2.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, HB, 2 K) for three runs before second baseman Atencio was called, with two outs and Warren at first, to the bump. And after plunking Thomas, Atencio managed to get Lancaster to pop foul to Archuleta and avoid further damage. 

Mendoza-Lechuga singled and scored in the top of the sixth, via Atencio’s fielder’s-choice grounder retiring Flores at second, and Atencio then got out of the home half unscathed by getting both Winter and Lee to ground out to third baseman Flores. 

Manning centerfield defensively, Winter then almost reversed momentum for good in the top of the seventh by twice diving to his left and coming up with back-to-back grabs robbing Evan Maez and Shaun Sanderson of potential doubles. Refusing to let that hustle be what beat the Bobcats (4-3 overall, 2-1 SJBL), Archuleta then beat out an infield single down the third-base line. With Mendoza-Lechuga up, he then stole second base and reached third via a Vaughn wild pitch. 

Mendoza-Lechuga then slapped an RBI-single to left, hurried into third when Flores singled to right, and scored IHS’ ninth run when Vaughn (W; 4.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 ER, BB, HB, 5 K) pitched wild to Atencio. Flores (L; 0.1 IP, H, R, ER, HB) was thrown out at home plate attempting to take an extra base, but the ’Cats had the required edge. 

Dolores, however, still had three outs with which to work and Hampton smacked the first pitch he saw for a double to left. Vaughn then traded places with him by doubling the same direction and, after Atencio froze Warren with a called third strike, then got Thomas to pop foul to first base, brought in the re-tying run when Lancaster singled to center. Atencio (2.1 IP, 0 BB, 5 HB, 2 K) then hit Samulski, but struck out freshman Isaac Samulski to wrap up regulation play with the teams deadlocked at 9-all. 

Archuleta (2-4, BB) and Mendoza-Lechuga (3-5) each scored three runs in defeat, while Flores (4-5) and Atencio (1-4) scored two apiece. Mendoza-Lechuga, Flores, Romero (4-5) and Loudenburg (2-4) each finished with two RBI. 

Looking ahead, Ignacio will host Dolores for a doubleheader on Friday, April 17. Results from the aforementioned twinbill against DCHS (3-7 overall, 1-2 SJBL) were unavailable at press time.