Rams' late rally comes up short against Dons

Apr. 13—West Las Vegas, ranked third in Class 3A, built an early 4-0 lead against Portales High on Thursday and held on for a 5-4 victory at Ram Field.

Trailing 5-1, Portales (7-5) put together a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh before coming up short. Sophomore Javier Montoya went 2-for-3 for the Dons (12-2), with a run scored and an RBI.

"They got the hits when they needed them," Rams coach Arturo Ontiveros said. "We left a lot of runners in scoring position.

"We had plenty of opportunities, but we just couldn't get it done and that's frustrating."

The Dons plated two runs in the first and two more in the third to chase Rams starter Andru Ontiveros. They added an insurance run in the top of the seventh, and that proved important when Portales mounted its late comeback.

After starting 11-0, West Las Vegas dropped a District 2-3A-opening doubleheader on April 6 at Las Vegas Robertson 13-3 and 17-16 in eight innings on April 6.

Junior Elijah Tellez went 3-for-3 for PHS, with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Sophomore Carson Pfaffenberger hit a two-run single in the seventh and finished 2-for-4, while senior Kaiden Gutierrez was 2-for-3 and scored once.

Pfaffenberger advanced to second with the potential tying run on the throw home on his seventh-inning knock, but the Rams went down in order after that on a lineout to center, a groundout to short and a strikeout.

Tellez relieved Andru Ontiveros in the third inning and pitched into the seventh before giving way to Gutierrez, who recorded the final two outs.

Next up for the Rams is a 6:30 p.m. tilt at Eunice on Monday. Portales begins District 4-4A action this week with a three-game series against Artesia, visiting the Bulldogs on Thursday night and then playing a 5 p.m. twin bill at Portales on Friday.