KIRTLAND - The Bloomfield High School baseball team heads into the final district game of the season on a roll, extending its win streak to six after a 6-5 win on the road over Kirtland Central High School.
The Bobcats victory means Thursday’s district finale at Miyamura will likely determine the District 1-4A champion.
Bloomfield (17-5 overall, 7-2 District) jumped out to a 6-1 lead after three innings, thanks to a 5-RBI performance from Francisco Rivera, who went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double.
The Broncos rallied with three runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning to close the gap. The majority of the offense came off the bat of Demusico Edsitty, who drove in a pair of runs to draw within a pair of runs.
Kirtland Central added a run in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to a 2-out RBI triple from Edsitty, which scored Shadwyn Simpson.
Rivera came onto the mound for the Bobcats and closed out the contest, striking out the final hitter of the game to preserve the win.
Ryan Sharpe and Trae Woods each pitched 3 ⅓ innings for the Bobcats, combining to strike out 10 hitters, while allowing five hits and walking six Kirtland Central hitters.
Bloomfield defeated Miyamura in the only meeting between the two clubs, routing the Patriots at home by a final of 19-2 on April 15.
Bloomfield, ranked No. 10 in Class 4A by MaxPreps is just two slots ahead of Miyamura in the latest poll. Miyamura, (11-12 overall, 7-2 District) is ranked No. 12 and is just one slot ahead of defending district champion Aztec heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
In other prep baseball action, Aztec topped Gallup by a final of 4-1 at home thanks to the efforts of Sylas Hengst and Jacob Prada-Johnson.
Hengst went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI triple and a run scored. Prada-Johnson threw six solid innings on the mound, striking out nine while allowing only five hits and a walk to earn the victory.
Aztec improves to 13-10 on the season (5-4 District 1-4A) and snapped a two-game losing streak. The Tigers will wrap up the regular season Thursday when they host Kirtland Central.
Chris Chavez and Jaimeer Beyale each led the Miyamura High School baseball team to a 6-0 shutout win on the road Tuesday afternoon over Shiprock.
Chavez drove in two runs, going 2-for-2 at the plate and drawing a pair of walks. Beyale went 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.
The game was scoreless through five innings before the Patriots offense went on the attack, scoring all six of its runs and eventually snapping Shiprock’s two-game win streak.
Beyale aided his own cause from the hill, pitching a complete game and striking out eight Chieftains hitters. He allowed only four hits and didn’t walk a batter over seven innings.
Miyamura (11-11 overall, 7-2 District) extends its win streak to four straight games ahead of a district schedule finale Thursday at home against Bloomfield. The Patriots own an 18-6 advantage in the series between the two teams dating back to 2009, but the Bobcats have won each of the last pair of games by a combined margin of 24-4.
Shiprock falls to 8-11 (3-6 District) and will finish out the regular season Thursday afternoon when they visit Gallup.
Lucius Hale hit a homerun while Tayshaun Brown and Dayton Yazzie each had a pair of RBI’s in the first half of a twinbill Tuesday afternoon as Navajo Prep clobbered Thoreau by a final of 14-3.
The Eagles scored eight times in the bottom of the first inning of the opening game of the doubleheader, then got steady pitching from Kyle Begay, who threw five innings and struck out eight batters to earn the win.
Navajo Prep was aggressive on the basepaths, stealing a total of 22 bases in the win.
The Eagles came out in the nightcap and scored an 8-4 win over the Hawks, thanks to a 3-RBI performance by Nehemiah Simpson, who went 3-for-3 at the plate.
Jacob Arviso and Khol Johnson combined to earn the victory on the mound for the Eagles, striking out six Hawks hitters.
Navajo Prep (8-12 overall, 6-0 District) has rolled through its district competition this season, outscoring their rivals by a margin of 81-22. Despite the recent success, the Eagles are still ranked No 16 in Class 3A by Maxpreps. The team will look to extend its win streak Thursday when they visit Zuni.
