CORTEZ – It was only a matter of time. The Montezuma-Cortez offense and defense produced timely big plays on their home diamond, and the Panthers picked up their first victory of the season, 6-4, over Shiprock.
After a slow start to the season, the Panthers (1-3) looked sharp in the early going against the Chieftains, as senior Ernie Padilla took to the hill for Tim Passell’s squad. Padilla mowed through Shiprock (4-1) through the opening innings, as the Panthers looked to provide their starter with some run support.
The offense came through, scratching across runs on Korie Likes and Dylan Kibel RBIs in the opening frames, as the Panthers tallied single runs in each of the first three innings to build a 3-0 advantage.
With Padilla continuing to spin a gem, the Panthers were able to create some distance between themselves and the visitors in the fourth, when sophomore Braden Hallman cranked an RBI double, one of his two hits on the day, to spark a three-run inning.
The Panthers feasted on Chieftain pitching all game long, as the Panthers produced 12 hits, seven for extra bases, highlighted by a pair of two-baggers from Kibel.
Ultimately, it was Padilla who stole the show, working into the sixth inning with a shutout intact, bolstered with a 6-0 lead. The right-hander scattered five hits over his five-plus innings of work, before being lifted in the sixth.
Shiprock began to rally in the sixth, reaching safely with the first four batters in the inning, before the Panthers came up with a sterling defensive play. With two runners aboard, senior shortstop Ty Blackmer made a grab on a looping ball in shallow center field. He then fired in to second base to catch the Chieftain base runner off the bag for a crucial double play.
Junior reliever Trinidad McDonell extinguished the threat with a strikeout to move the Panthers within three outs of the victory.
With Shiprock threatening again, down 6-2 heading into the seventh, with two runners aboard, the Panthers would need more solid defensive play to seal the win. A base hit closed the gap to 6-3, bringing the tying run at the plate for the unbeaten Chieftains with two outs.
With runners at the corners, the Chieftains produced a single up the middle, but, in the haste to get the runner to second, the M-CHS outfield fired the ball in to get the trail runner at second base, trying to stretch the base hit to a double. Blackmer applied the tag at second, and the Panthers survived with the two-run victory.
It was a solid day for the offense, as every Panther who took to the batter’s box collected a hit on the day, highlighted by Hallman and Kibel’s two-hit afternoon. M-CHS outhit the Chieftains 12-9, while Padilla and McDonell combined to strike out 10 batters.
M-CHS gets set to take on a pair of tough 1A opponents this weekend, as they will see Nucla and Dove Creek on back-to-back dates, this Friday and Saturday, May 14 and 15.
