Not only did it save the game for one side, but it was just about the only defensive play either team would have liked to remember Tuesday afternoon at IHS Field.
It was even made by an individual not in the starting lineup.
Scrambling far to his left in the top of the seventh inning, Ignacio reserve second baseman Ian Weinreich not only managed to scoop up Center Viking Esteban Perez's two-on, two-out grounder. He then make a precise throw to first baseman Marcus Chapman, securing the Bobcats' fifth win in their last six outings, 7 to 5.
"I think we needed this game..warm us up for this weekend," said Cole McCaw, who went 3-for-4 with a first-inning RBI-double and two runs. He and the rest of the Bobcats are looking to the regular-season finale at 3A Montezuma-Cortez. First pitch at McAndrew Field is set for 11 a.m. Saturday.
"We've just got to come out and play hard, and hope for the best," McCaw stated.
Patient at the plate from the get-go, CHS-originally set to face Dolores in Pagosa Springs-managed to draw four first-inning walks against IHS senior Zach Weinreich (ND; 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 5 K) and convert two into runs via a single by Marcus Smith.
But the 'Cats quickly answered, putting across three in the home half via McCaw's double, an infield single to shortstop by Joe Herrera, and an infield knock over Viking starter Patrick Mortensen (ND; 3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) by Dalton Labarthe to take a 3-2 lead.
Center (6-11, 4-4 2A Southern Peaks) tied it up in the third, and Ignacio head coach Bert Miller chose to pull Weinreich-who'd already thrown over 60 pitches-in favor of leftfielder Labarthe. And with only three throws, yielding come-backers off the bats of Perez and Andrew Garza, the senior managed to get Ignacio (9-8, 4-2 2A/1A San Juan Basin) out of a two-on, one-out jam.
The guests did manage another run in the top of the fourth, when Nabor Quintana walked, stole second and then scored on a single by Cristian Guaderrama, but IHS took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth.
Senior Timmy Plehinger-Williams singled off Guaderrama (L; 3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) to lead off and Zach Weinreich reached on a fielder's-choice roller to short after Plehinger-Williams-who scored on the play-had swiped second and advanced to third on an off-target throw by Mortensen.
A Guaderrama fielding error near the mound allowed Herrera to reach and moved Weinreich (1-4, R, 2 RBI) to second, and Trace Lovelace then hit a fielder's-choice bouncer to short, pushing Weinreich to third and allowing him to score when Robbie Cortez-who forced out Herrera-threw off-line of Smith at first.
Lovelace (2-4, 2B, R) would score three batters later when Quintana muffed Rendon Mestas' fly-the Vikes' fifth error in the frame-to center, and IHS would tack on one more run-McCaw, via a one-out Weinreich single-in the bottom of the sixth.
And though Guaderrama (1-3, BB, 2 R, RBI) would reach and score in the visitors' seventh, Labarthe (4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, ER, 3 BB, 3 K) would ultimately strand Smith (2-4, 3 RBI) at third and Kevin Miramontes (0-1, 3 BB) at second to earn the win in long relief.
"We could have had a lot more motivation at the beginning of the game," McCaw said. "But we came out with the win, and that's all that matters."
