Texico rallies district split at Pecos

Apr. 23—PECOS — After seeing an eight-run lead get away in the opener, Texico bounced back with a 17-3 rout of Pecos on Friday for a split of their District 6-2A baseball doubleheader.

In the first game, the homestanding Panthers came all the way back from an 8-0 deficit, scoring eight times in the bottom of the sixth for an 11-9 victory.

Texico (5-8, 2-2 district) trailed 3-1 in Game 2 before putting together back-to-back, eight-run frames in the fourth and fifth innings and ending the contest in five on the 10-run rule.

Sophomore Hunter Bowman was 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI while senior Kyle Gonser went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored for the Wolverines. Meantime, senior Easton Cooper, junior Edgar Mendoza and sophomores Jesus Chavez and Bryce Cooper added two hits apiece and combined for eight RBIs and four runs scored.

Easton Cooper hurled 3 2/3 innings for the win, allowing four hits and striking out eight.

In the opener, seniors Jesus Torres and Lawrence Ragland and junior Jonah Villanueva each had two of the Panthers' 10 hits while Ragland and seniors Nicholas Ruiz Jr. and Elijah Gonzales each knocked in two runs for Pecos (10-6, 1-1).

Bryce Cooper led the Wolverines' 15-hit attack, going 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Gonser was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, while Chavez, Easton Cooper and senior Daltyn Cain each chipped in a pair of hits.

In other Friday area baseball:

Elida 12-29, Floyd 0-19 — In District 2-1A, the host Tigers (5-3, 4-1) made short work of the Broncos in the opener as freshman Coda Cathey and senior Seth Jimenez combined on a five-inning three-hitter, striking out seven.

Elida, which scored seven runs in the first, got two hits each from junior Dylan Dobbins, who had a double, scored twice and drove in a run, and freshman Bradley Burris, who knocked in a pair of runs and scored once.

In Game 2, the Broncos (0-7, 0-4) used a 12-run third to open a 17-7 advantage, only to see Elida bounce back with nine in the fourth and 11 in the sixth to end it on the run rule.

Jimenez led a 21-hit Tigers onslaught, going 5-for-6 with two doubles, two triples, a home run, six runs scored and four RBIs. Junior Hardy Fraze was 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, five RBIs and three runs scored, while Burris finished 3-for-3 with five runs scored and four driven in and senior Mikael Malloy added 3-for-4, driving in four runs and scoring twice.

Cathey went 2-for-2 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored. Dobbins and senior Jeremiah Woodruff each had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run.

Junior Daniel Lozano was 4-for-4 with two triples, five RBIs and a pair of runs for the Broncos, while eighth-grader Brayden Parks also went 4-for-4, tallying four times and driving in one. Freshmen Archer Knox, Ray Duarte and Aiden Nieto all finished 3-for-5, combining for eight runs and eight RBIs, while juniors Jimmy Lovato and Joseph Contreras were both 2-for-3.

Melrose 13-11, Cimarron 3-4 — In District 2-1A at Melrose, the visiting Rams jumped on top 3-0 in the first inning of the opener on an RBI double by freshman Orion LeDoux and a two-run homer by senior Dylan Atzberger, but it was all Melrose after that. The Buffs, ranked No. 1 this week in Class 1A by MaxPreps, took the lead with a five-run second and ended it on the run rule with three in the bottom of the fifth.

LeDoux finished 2-for-3 for the Rams (3-5, 0-3). Junior Cy Draper went 3-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and a pair of runs for the Buffs (8-3, 3-0) and senior Michael Cardonita was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs.

Senior Dathan Yeary also homered, finishing 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs, and senior Gray Brandon was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

In Game 2, Melrose opened a 7-0 lead after two innings and cruised. Cardonita led the attack, going 3-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and three runs, while senior Gray Brandon was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and junior Josiah Roybal was 2-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI.

Sophomore Urijah Martinez finished 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run for the Rams, while Atzberger belted a solo home run.

Logan 14-12, Grady 0-0 — In the opener of a District 2-1A twin bill at Grady, the second-ranked Longhorns got a five-inning one-hitter from senior Kaeden Stoner, who also homered and finished 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs.

Logan (12-2, 3-0) blasted five home runs, including two each by junior Jace Jackson and sophomore Mason Wallin. They combined to go 5-for-8 with 10 RBIs, seven by Wallin.

The lone hit for the Bronchos (7-3, 0-3), ranked fourth in 1A, was a single by junior Deakin Ragland.

Ragland also had Grady's lone hit in Game 2. Sophomore Aydin Kotera doubled, homered and went 2-for-3 for Logan, scoring three times and driving in three, while Wallin finished 2-for-4 and picked up three more RBIs.

Stoner, senior Brock Burns and eighth-grader Kale Griffiths each had two hits for the Longhorns.

Meantime, in a District 2-1A doubleheader at Roswell, Gateway Christian (9-5, 5-0) posted a 15-5, 30-4 sweep over Dora (0-6, 0-4).