Six in the sixth, and another tense victory for Bernalillo baseball
Apr. 16—BERNALILLO — Mike Puentes is a lonely guy these days inside the Bernalillo High School baseball dugout.
When the team he coaches, the Spartans, were playing defense Tuesday against visiting Valley, there was only one player in there to keep him company.
But Bernalillo, even with just 10 players in uniform, got it done in one of the pivotal games in the District 6-4A season.
Sophomore Alexis Hernandez-Carillo not only pitched a complete game for the Spartans on Tuesday, but he also belted a tiebreaking, three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, and No. 5-ranked Bernalillo went on to score often and late against the eighth-ranked Vikings in a 7-2 victory.
Bernalillo trailed 2-1 headed to the bottom of the sixth.
Hernandez-Carillo's bomb was followed just seconds later by Uriel Castro's solo home run to left as those back-to-back homers allowed Bernalillo (13-4) to pull even with Albuquerque Academy with a 3-1 record atop the 6-4A standings.
"This was a really good victory for us," Spartans coach Mike Puentes said. "This kind of reinforced what our goal is at this point of the season."
That goal, he said, is to reach Class 4A's state semifinals next month.
"The boys are really believing that we can go all the way," Puentes said.
And why shouldn't they?
Bernalillo is finding a way, especially of late. The Spartans did drop their most recent game, 12-10 to Academy, but in the four games prior to that, they won four times — by a combined seven runs.
"We're a good hitting team," Puentes said, "but this year, we're blessed to have three or four good pitchers. Our pitching is what's got us where we're at."
Hernandez-Carillo improved his record this season to 5-1. The Spartans have two other pitchers with four wins apiece.
Tuesday's matchup was super close the whole way.
Valley shoved home a run in the top of the sixth for a 2-1 lead, but the Bernalillo bats woke up in a most timely fashion, starting with Hernandez-Carillo's blast over the left-field wall.
"Fastball right down the middle," he said. "I didn't wait. I jumped on it."
It was a tough loss for Valley (10-10, 2-2), but given the competitiveness of this district, which also includes Hope Christian, there might only be 2 1/2 weeks left in the regular season, but there remains plenty of time for jostling in the standings between now and the first weekend in May.
Academy (12-9, 3-1) was the only 6-4A team to not play a district game Tuesday. The Chargers are home to Valley on Friday. Bernalillo is home to Hope (14-6, 2-2) on Friday.
"We just battle, never give up," Puentes said. "We have belief. We're tired of being beat."
