Not once in 2013 did the Ignacio High School baseball team record consecutive wins.
The Bobcats now have done it twice this season.
Ignacio (5-2) earned a 15-7 victory on the road at Centauri (3-1-1). Bo Ward pitched a complete-game victory on the mound for the Bobcats. He struck out six Centauri batters.
“We had a great pitching performance from Bo,” IHS head coach Lupe Huerta said. “We had a few mistakes, but the kids overcame them and played solid ball.”
Anthony Manzanares and Tucker Ward both went 4-for-4 at the plate in Thursday’s win, and Paco Mounts blasted a three-run home run.
“The middle of our lineup really has been coming through offensively,” Huerta said. “The kids are coming up with good hits and are running the bases well. They are focused.”
Huerta credited Iaasic Peña for playing a solid game at catcher for the Bobcats, and he estimated that only four of the seven Centauri runs could be charged to Bo Ward.
During the strong start to the season, Huerta said he can see a complete change in attitude in his team from last year’s when they finished 3-15 and 0-9 in the San Juan Basin League.
“Last year, mistakes killed us. This year, the mistakes we make are little and don’t bother us because we know our defense is good enough to win games,” Huerta said. “They have a lot of confidence they can win, which is a big difference from last year.”
Ignacio will host Dolores at 11 a.m. Saturday in its SJBL opener.
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