Clovis baseball, softball teams split

ALAMOGORDO — In a day dominated by errors for both teams, the Clovis Wildcats came out with a split at Alamogordo.

The Wildcats (7-5) dropped the first game 12-2 in five innings, then took control in the second game with a four-run fifth for a 10-7 victory.

Clovis coach Shane Shallenberger noted the error differential in each game — 4-0 Clovis in the first game and 5-2 Alamogordo in the nightcap.

“Our first four runs were unearned and we never bounced back,” Shallenberger said. “The second game, they gave us an (error-filled) inning and we hit the ball the rest of the game.

“Both games came down to errors and both teams capitalized on the errors.”

The Tigers roughed up Clovis pitchers Brandon Gilliard and Brandon Ratledge in the opener, and Jake Burrell got the win in five innings of work in the second game.

Ratledge pitched to one batter to pick up the save.

Shallenberger was happy with the team’s recovery after the early blowout.

“It’s hard to win on the road and we got it done,” Shallenberger said, “so I’m really proud of that.”

Clovis hosts Artesia Saturday in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Bell Park.

Softball

RIO RANCHO — The Clovis High softball team got out of Rio Rancho a little early than they thought, with what turned out to be a doubleheader split against Gadsden and Robertson.

Clovis dropped the 8 a.m. opener against Gadsden 10-8, then beat Robertson by the same score in the 10 a.m. game to stay at .500 on the season.

Brittany Mascarenas went 4-for-7 in the series, while Kambri Jones went 3-for-4 with an RBI double in the second game to lead a 10-hit attack for Clovis (7-7).

“As far as hitting, I’m pretty pleased with how we hit today,” Clovis coach Brandi Thomas said. “We came out and attacked instead of being passive.”

Thomas said Adriana Aguilar, the first-game starter, had some troubles finding the umpire’s strike zone, striking out eight and walking nine. She recovered to record the final two outs of the second game to save the victory for Lynnae Logan.

Some scheduling changes were forced with teams dropping out, and Thomas was pleased with how her team recovered.

“All in all, we weren’t expecting to play back-to-back, so we didn’t have time to refocus,” Thomas said. “I was pretty proud of the way we recovered from (Friday’s 9-1 loss to) Rio Rancho.”

The Lady Cats return home Tuesday, with a 6 p.m. contest against Roswell.