'What are the chances?' Catcher for Oak Grove/Menaul hits grand slams in 3 consecutive games
Apr. 18—A grand slam in three consecutive prep baseball games? By the same person?
What a Rush.
Indeed, Noah Rush, a senior catcher for the Class 2A co-op between Oak Grove Classical Academy (which he attends) and Menaul, has delivered a slam in three straight contests.
"Third time," he said, "it was a little hard to digest at first."
He hit a slam in the second game of a doubleheader last Wednesday against Socorro, a game played at the Eastdale Little League complex where the co-op stages home games.
Then Rush, 18, hit a slam in both ends of a Monday doubleheader against Bosque School, also at Eastdale.
Before Socorro, he said, he had only hit one grand slam in his life.
"It was a cool thing to think about," he said.
Has anyone in New Mexico achieved a similar feat?
It is an exceedingly difficult question to answer. Rush might be the first, but there is no way to know for certain as New Mexico Activities Association records do not address this particular unique statistic.
"What are the chances?" Rush said.
According to the MLB almanac, no one has ever done it more than two games in a row at the most upper level of the sport. Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey Jr. are among those who have hit slams in two straight.
"Chances are pretty slim," Rush said, addressing his own query.
The slams are part of a recent power surge for Rush.
He hit two home runs in the first game of the Socorro doubleheader on April 10, giving him five jacks in his last four games.
He has eight total home runs this season.
He won't have a chance to hit a slam in four straight games, however, as he is traveling to Florida on Thursday and will miss the team's next contest, Friday against Del Norte.
He is attending his girlfriend's prom in Fort Myers.
But he has this.
"I was a little bit freaking out," Rush said of the third slam. Last weekend, he won an individual state powerlifting championship with Oak Grove. "It was kind of incredible."
