In baseball as in life, sometimes the breaks just don’t go your way.
The fifth-seeded Bulldogs certainly couldn’t seem to catch one Thursday in their Class 5A state quarterfinal game against No. 4 Piedra Vista at St. Pius High School in Albuquerque.
After getting off to a solid start, the Artesia boys could only watch as things went careening out of hand in the top of the third. There, the Panthers batted around and plated seven total runs – only one of which was earned.
From there, the war of attrition continued. What didn’t come to PV as a result of uncharacteristic errors by the ‘Dogs did so by way of slow-rolling ground balls that inched either just over the outfield grass or into No Man’s Land in the infield, leaving Artesia no time to get off a throw.
Of the Panthers’ six hits on the contest, only one reached the outfield by air mail – a leadoff double in the top of the fourth by Isaiah Gamboa. But the Bulldogs struggled at the plate themselves, failing to push a runner past first base in there of their five at-bats and leaving one in scoring position in their last of the 2016 season.
The 12-2, five-inning run rule was by no means the method by which Artesia envisioned its year coming to a close. But neither does it overshadow a season’s worth of solid play.
It just wasn’t Artesia’s day.
“You sure don’t want to play like that in an important game, but we did,” head coach Lee Johnson said Friday. “They just played better than we did, and that’s the way it goes. The team that plays the best moves on, they played better in all phases of the game than we did, and the score was indicative of that.”
After both teams went down in order in the first inning of play Thursday, it looked as though the game was destined to become a pitchers’ duel. With help from a leadoff error, however, Piedra Vista was able to load the bases with two outs in the top of the second, and a worm-burner into center by No. 9 batter Sam Moody plated the first two runs of the game.
The ‘Dogs cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the second, however, when Taylor Null – on with a two-out double – scored on a single up the middle by Tristan Bowden.
But in the top of the third, trouble began to brew for Artesia. Freshman pitcher JR Bustamonte had been visibly battling frustration in the opening innings, alternating between stepping off the mound while awaiting signals and backing off as PV batters stepped out of the box. With one on and one away, two consecutive hit batsman loaded the bases, and after one run scored on an error to make it 3-1, the Panthers proceeded to rally.
A fielder’s choice resulted in another run and no additional outs, and Piedra Vista decided the situation was ripe for a little small ball. It paid off, as two consecutive bunts resulted in errors and runs. After two more came around on a two-base E and a third on a wild pitch, the ‘Dogs found themselves suddenly trailing 9-1.
“If we would’ve made about four plays in particular situations, I think it’s a different ballgame,” said Johnson. “Do we win the game? I don’t know. But it would’ve been a lot closer, that’s for sure.”
Bowden took the hill in relief and was able to K the final two outs, but the pressure was on the Artesia offense. Carlos Carrasco singled but was left standing on first in the bottom of the third, and Null was also stranded after a base hit in the fourth.
The Panthers, meanwhile, tacked on two more in the top of the fourth inning on an infield single and RBI ground out and made it 12-1 in the fifth on an error. That brought the Bulldogs back to the plate in need of a pair in order to stave off the run-rule.
Miguel Martinez beat out an infield single to lead off and proceeded to steal second, but a ground out to third and a strikeout put the ‘Dogs on the ropes. Carrasco came through with a big double to the left-center-field fence, plating Martinez and placing himself in scoring position as the all-important third run. A fly ball to left, however, brought an end to the game and the season.
“I was proud of our kids,” said Johnson. “They kept battling. It’s hard to stay positive when you’re down a bunch of runs, but our kids kept plugging away. (Piedra Vista) made some good defensive plays on us, a couple of line drives to the outfield, and in particular their center-fielder made a great play on one Grady (Frost) hit to the fence that he ran down. So you have to tip your hat to that team on that day.”
Carrasco finished 2-3 at the plate on the day with a double and one RBI. Null was 2-2 with a double, and Bowden and Martinez both went 1-2 to round out Artesia’s hitting, the former with one run batted in.
The Bulldogs close the book on 2016 with a final record of 15- 13 and will say goodbye this year to five seniors in Carrasco, Bowden, Grady Frost, Clay Donaghe and Brooks Donaldson. With the bulk of their lineup returning next season, however, the ‘Dogs’ future looks to be in good hands.
“We didn’t want to end like that,” Johnson said. “Nobody does. But I think we still had a really good season, and I’m proud of all our kids. The one thing about this team, they worked hard in practice every day, and at the end of the day, they didn’t have anything left to give. And that’s how we got better.
“We had good senior leadership this year. I hate to see those guys go, but we have a good nucleus coming back, and we’re already looking forward to next year.”
