Cavemen Club Clovis Wildcats 9-4

By Don Eskins

The Carlsbad Cavemen, tied up with the Clovis Wildcats at 4-4 through five innings in their District 4/5A inaugural, broke loose for three runs in the sixth and another two in the seventh to down the Cats 9-4 in Clovis on Tuesday, April 15.

In Carlsbad's big sixth inning, Ricardo Herrera doubled to drive in the go-ahead run for the Cavemen. Later in the inning, with a runner on base, Eloy Lopez provided two big insurance runs for CHS by going yard. His effort earned Carlsbad a 7-4 lead. The Cavemen added two more runs in the seventh to grab the 9-4 win.

With Jonas Molinar on the mound, Carlsbad shut the Wildcats out over the final two innings of play to grab the win. On the afternoon, Molinar threw seven innings and gave up four runs on six hits with just two walks. He struck out six.

The victory earned Carlsbad a spot at the top of the District 4/5A standings, at 1-0, along with the Hobbs Eagles. On the year, the Cavemen are 16-5 and ranked fourth in Class 5A baseball.

Enjoying multiple hit performances were Garrett Fuentes, 3-4, along with Tanner Collins, Conner Roberson, and Ricardo Herrera, who each went 2-3. Eloy Lopez went 2-5. Roberson, as did Lopez, went yard.

The Cavemen were scheduled to take on the 10-9 Wildcats again on Thursday, April 17. Results of that game will be posted in the April 25 edition of the Carlsbad Local.

As of Tuesday, April 15, Carlsbad and Hobbs were sitting atop the District 4/5A standings at 1-0. Roswell and Clovis were 0-1.

Box Score:C-bad 2-1-0-1-0-3-2--9Clovis 3-0-0-1-0-0-0--4Game Stats: E. Lopez 2-5, 2R, 2RBI; G. Fuentes 3-4, 1R, 1RBI; A. Quintela 1-4, 1RBI; A. Risher 1-4; J. Molinar 0-3; W. Cozart 1-3, 2R, BB; T. Collins 2-3, 1R, 1RBI; M. Espinda 0-0, 1R; C. Roberson 2-3, 1R; 3RBI; R. Herrera 2-3, 1R, 1RBI; Extra Base Hits: Doubles- R. Herrera x 2, G. Fuentes and A. Risher; Triples- G. Fuentes x 2, C. Roberson; Home Runs- E. Lopez and C. Roberson; Stolen Bases- A. Quintela and W. Cozart; WP-J. Molinar 7in-6H-4R-4ER-2BB-6K's.