Roswell Finishes Third in

by Joshua Boraz/ Roswell Daily Record

Roswell, NM: The Goddard Rockets fell behind 2-0 after two and 3-2 after three innings and could not complete a comeback in the third-place game against the Plainview (Texas) Bulldogs on Saturday at NMMI Field. They trailed by the 3-2 token for the final four innings, but in the bottom of the seventh, the top three in the lineup went down in order and the Rockets were left with a 3-2 loss.

Senior Justin Cooper returned to the mound and pitched two scoreless innings of relief while striking out three batters.

"I felt good," said Cooper. "I had thrown off the mound before the game, but I definitely missed the in game action."

Rockets starter Chris Trujillo struck out five over five innings, allowing only four hits, but ended up with the tough-luck loss. Trujillo also had the hottest bat on the day going 2-for-3 with a single and an RBI triple.

On the other side, Bulldogs ace Brent Falkenberg struck out five and allowed five hits for the complete game win. Leading the Bulldogs' bats was Tanner Velasquez who went 2-for-4 with two singles and a run scored.

The Rockets stranded four runners after falling behind 3-2 in the top of the third inning.

"You know that's what it's going to come down to" said assistant coach Robert Gonzales about the Rockets lack of clutch hitting. "We have the pitching and we have the defense and its going to (come down to) our sticks."

Trujillo took his lumps in the top of the second. After surrendering a single to Bulldogs left fielder Jason Miller, Velasquez vaulted a single into center field and advanced to third on a two-base fielding error that scored Miller. Velasquez later scored on a ground out to make it 2-0 heading into the bottom of the second inning.

Trujillo helped his cause in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI triple to score transfer first baseman K.C. Steen. The Rockets responded to a third Bulldogs run in the third inning with a run of their own in the back end of the frame when Kyser dropped a double into centerfield and later scored on second baseman Lance McLeod's single to take it to 3-2.Other Saturday games:7th Place game

Hobbs 14, Roswell 2 - 6 innings

The Roswell Coyotes carried a 2-2 tie into the fifth inning on the heels of a quality start by sophomore Marcus Boyd who surrendered just five hits, but 10 errors, including four in the top of the fifth inning, allowed the Hobbs Eagles to win 14-2 in six innings.

"Yeah I can say something about the errors," said a frustrated Coyotes coach Mark Beemon. "We made too many of them. We're going to work hard on defense this week, it's one of the things that you can work on in practice and get better at."

Celebrated Coyotes catcher Randy Rodriguez got the Coyotes lone hit slapping a single to go 1-for-3 on the day.

Eagles (4-6) starter Michael Bates tallied nine strikeouts in the complete game one-hitter.

Eagles centerfielder Josh Weldy went 3-for-4 with three singles, a stolen base, a walk and scored three runs. Consolation championship

Durango 21, Lovington 9- 5 innings

The Durango Demons, out of Colorado, had their way with the Lovington Wildcats, 21-9 in the afternoon game on Saturday.

The Wildcats were decimated on defense, committing nine errors and giving up 13 hits to the Demons. The Demons were far from flawless themselves, committing nine errors and allowing four hits, but were good enough to get the win.

Durango starter Aaron Coats got the complete game win and also had an excellent day at the plate going 2-for-3 with a single, triple, two walks, three RBIs and four runs scored. The Wildcats' Tyler Gruenwald, who started at second base but later moved to relief pitcher, took the loss.

Wildcats leftfielder Manuel Yanez had a good day at the plate going 2-for-3 at the plate with a couple of singles and a run scored.Championship game

Eldorado 13, Carlsbad 3 - 5 innings

The Carlsbad Cavemen scored three runs in the top of the first inning - that was all they would score as the El Dorado Eagles exploded for 13 runs on the Cavemen, including eight in the bottom half of the first, to win 13-3.

The winning pitcher was Josh Posen who went the complete game, striking out two batters and allowing just four hits. He was aided by some excellent performances, specifically from second baseman Austin Cantwell, who went 2-for-3 with two singles, two runs scored and an RBI.

The losing pitcher was Matt Chavarria who allowed eight runs in the bottom half of the first inning, striking out none. All the hits were in the first inning with Cavemen left fielder Seth Rodriguez finished going 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a run scored.

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