Cats' late rally falls short

Artesia coach Clay Foster was just happy to get out with a sweep.

After the Bulldogs handed Clovis High a 10-0 loss in the opener of a doubleheader on Saturday at Bell Park, no lead was safe in the nightcap. The Cats erased deficits of 4-0, 5-2 and 10-5, moving in front with a six-run sixth, but Rolando Chavarria hit a 3-2, two-out, three-run double in the top of the seventh to lift the Bulldogs to a 14-13 victory.

Artesia (7-6) went 1-3 on a spring-break trip to Arizona this week, arriving home on Friday night, Foster noted. Sophomore right-hander Deven Nelson pitched a four-hit shutout in the opener, but Foster figured the second game would be a struggle.

“He had the most rest of anyone (who pitched),” he said of Nelson. “Everyone in the second game was coming in on two days’ rest. I knew our sticks would have to pick up our pitching.”

CHS coach Shane Shallenberger said his team’s pitching and defense struggled against the Bulldogs.

“Our pitchers didn’t seem like they had anything on their fastballs,” he said. “For some reason, they just didn’t have the ‘giddy-up’ today, and they didn’t spot the ball very well.

“It’s a game of inches; we tried to battle back. We hit the ball a lot better in the second game.”

Clovis (7-7) pulled into a 5-5 tie in the nightcap on Jake Burrell’s two-out RBI single which capped a three-run fourth, but Artesia promptly scored five times in the top of the fifth to regain command.

After going down in order in the bottom of the fifth, the Wildcats went to work in the sixth. They tied the score 10-10 on Andrew Gilliard’s opposite-field RBI single to right, and Parker Wood scored all the way from firston the play when the ball eluded right fielder Cody Donaghe.

Wood, the Cats’ third pitcher, nearly worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the seventh. But after striking out Stacey Fincher and getting ahead 0-2 on Chavarria, the Artesia junior worked the count full and lined one into center that a diving Sebastian Flores couldn’t corral.

Another run scored on an error, and the Bulldogs needed it when Clovis put two on the board in the bottom half. Chavarria, Artesia’s third pitcher, got Wood to line out to end it with the tying run at third.

Chavarria finished the doubleheader 6-for-9 with seven RBIs. He went 4-for-5 in the nightcap.

“I enjoy playing in these kind of games,” Foster said. “You definitely don’t want to lose them, but I think it helps kids in the long run.

“We’ve got some tired arms. We’re lucky to be able to take two today.”

Leading 1-0 in the opener, the Bulldogs got all they would need with seven unearned runs in the fourth after the first two hitters were retired.

Artesia had six hits off CHS left-hander Brandon Gilliard in the first three innings, then parlayed two hits, four walks and two errors into an 8-0 margin.

Nelson was in command throughout. He allowed four hits, walked no one, hit one batter and struck out five.

“We chased a lot of balls,” Shallenberger said. “Their pitcher did a good job, though — tip your hat.”

Jake Burrell went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Josh Burrell was 3-for-4 with three doubles for Clovis in the second game.