Birds Split With Longhorns, Then Earn Win Over Lobos

By Greg Perkins
   Heading into the week prior to spring break the Roadrunners picked up wins in two of their three out-ings, gaining valuable powerpoints in the process.
   Their week started on a down note as they were 10-run ruled by the Payson Longhorns, but the next day they turned around and beat the same Longhorn squad by one run.
   The Roadrunners made the trip to Payson March 19 for the first game, and drew first blood with a sin-gle run in the top of the second inning. Payson countered with three runs in the bottom of the second only to see Holbrook score another run in the top of the third. Unfortunately for Roadrunner fans, that would be their final run of the game. Payson added two in the bottom of the third, then pushed in six runs in the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fifth the Longhorns ended the game under the mercy rule as they scored their final run to push the score to 12-2.
   Holbrook had just six hits in the game, made only two errors and left just one runner stranded.
   At the plate Brian Hansen went two for two, Marcus Castillo went two for three, Tyrell Sulu went one for two with a solo home run, and Nick Dayea went one for two with a double and scored a run.
   Adrian Perkins got the start on the hill and took the loss. He pitched just two innings and faced 15 bat-ters, giving up five runs, including two earned on five hits with two walks. Jared Hatch pitched three in-nings and also faced 15 batters. He allowed seven runs, including five earned with three hits and five walks. Neither pitcher was able to garner a strike out.
Holbrook                 011 00     2
Payson                     032 61   12
   What a difference a one-day turnaround would make. The next day it was Payson’s turn to travel and this time, despite getting outhit, the Roadrunners came out on top by a 9-8 final.
   Holbrook again scored early with a run in the first only to see Payson tie the game in the top of the sec-ond. In the third both teams found their stride. The Longhorns took the lead with three runs in their half of the frame, but were outdone by the Roadrunners, who pounded in five runs in the bottom of the fourth to regain the upper hand. The Longhorns chipped away at the lead with a run in the fourth, but the Birds pad-ded their margin, scoring their final three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Payson closed within two in the fifth, then came even closer with a run in the top of the seventh. At that point the Roadrunners held on de-fensively to secure the one-run win.
   Payson collected 11 hits in the game compared to just eight for Holbrook, but the Roadrunners were able to make the most of their eight hits. Holbrook committed just one error compared to four by Payson.
   Dayea pitched the first two innings, faced nine batters and gave up two runs, with just one earned on three hits, with one strike out. Gabi Aguilera pitched the middle two innings and earned the win. He faced 15 batters and gave up five runs on five hits, with two strike outs and five walks. Ryan Slade was credited with the save with three innings of work. He faced 12 batters and gave up just one run with two hits and one walk.
   At the plate Sulu had a big game, going three for four with a double, an RBI and scored three runs. Vic-tor Paz went two for three and scored twice. Cooper Reidhead and Aguilera each went one for three with a triple, three RBIs and scored a run. Hatch was one for three, walked, had an RBI and scored a run. Castillo walked and scored, and Hansen went zero for three with a sacrifice RBI.
Payson                 013 120 1   8
Holbrook              105 300 x 9
   Playing their third day in a row the Roadrunners traveled to Snowflake last Friday and came home with a hard fought 11-8 win.
   In a game that went back and forth the Roadrunners were able to capitalize on Snowflake mistakes, especially in the second inning when the Birds scored five runs to take a three-run lead. In the fifth inning it was the Lobos’ turn as they went back in front with four runs. In the top of the sixth Holbrook regained the advantage with three runs, then added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh the Lobos had runners on first and second with two outs and the tying run at the plate, but a hard hit shot back to pitcher Ryan Slade first bounced off his glove, but he was able to retrieve it and threw out the runner at first base by half a step to secure the road win for Holbrook.
Holbrook            050 003 3 11
Snowflake          201 040 1    8
   With the two big wins the Roadrunners stand at 8-6 on the season and have moved up to ninth in the latest power rankings. After facing the Lobos again today (March 28), the Roadrunners will make the long trip to Morenci for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 29, then open conference play on Tuesday, April 1, at Tuba City. On Friday, April 4, they will face an improved Window Rock squad in Holbrook.