2013 White Sands Pupfish News

Pupfish take 3-of-4 vs. Alpine

Starting Pupfish pitcher Chris Peac

Starting Pupfish pitcher Chris Peacock throws a strike. (Photo by Josh Szwaczkowski)
By Karen Boehler
Pecos League writer

ALAMOGORDO -- After losing four out of five to Alpine in the seasons first series, White Sands turned things around the second time the two teams met. The Pupfish took two out of three from the Cowboys, wrapping up with a 14-9 victory.

"We came out and hit the ball again today and scored a lot of runs and got to get our reserves in and get them some at bats and playing time," said White Sands manager Ernie Munoz. "It was a lot of fun. Everybody got to put a little bit of effort into todays win."

With starter Chris Peacock on the mound on the regulars in the field, the "Fish shut the Cowboys down through five, allowing no runs on only three hits. Meanwhile, the White Sands bats pounded the Alpine pitching.

The Pupfish went up 4-0 in the bottom of the first on four hits -- including a double by Christian Ramirez -- and an error. They added a fifth run in the second when J.J. Costantino singled and came home on a Ramirez single, walk and wild pitch, and another five in the third.

Cowboy starter Mike Castrignano couldnt get an out in the third inning, but reliever Jeremy Burright didnt do much better.

Castrignano hit a batter and gave up two singles, scoing two, and while Burright got the first out on a fielders choice, a Ramirez double and error brought three more Pupfish home. Neither team scored in the fourth or fifth, and Alpine finally broke through against Peacock in the sixth.

Derrick Fox and Tyler Rost both singled, Eric Herman walked; then an error scored Fox and Rost came home on a D.J. Johnson single.

Munoz started bringing in his subs in the seventh -- DJ Stinsman came in to pitch and pinch hitters came in then stayed in the field -- but White Sands continued to score, getting three more runs off Brian Milliman on three hits -- a Costantino double led the way -- a walk and a hit batter.

Alpine tallied three runs off four hits in the eighth, while the Pupfish added another run in the bottom of the stanza.

The Cowboys made things interesting in the ninth when Rost walked, Casanova Donaldson singled and Rost came home on an error.

Then, with two out and John Saavedra on the mound, Chris Torrance singled; Kenshoku Takubo walked; Conor Thompson reached on an error and Matt Mara singled, adding another four runs for the visitors. But after Fox singled, Thompson was caught off base and the game -- and series -- belonged to White Sands.

"I feel great," Munoz said of the win. "Its nothing we didnt expect. We came into the season expecting to win a championship, and thats the way were going to carry ourselves."

Both sides had some solid hitting. Ramirez was 4-for-4 with three runs; Costantino 3-for-5 with three runs; and Cody Collins and Jerry Gonzalez each 2-for-5.

The Cowboys had as many hits as the Pupfish -- 15 -- but simply couldnt make them count. Chris Torrance was 2-for-2 with two runs and RBI; Rost was 3-for-4 with two runs; Donaldson 2-for-5 with one run; and Fox 2-for-six with a run.

After a rough road trip, Alpine is probably happy to head home, where the Cowboys will face the 14-3 Invaders. Fridays game is set for a 7:05 (CDT) start. White Sands welcomes fresh-off-a-victory Raton, but Munoz said it doesnt matter who the Pupfish face. They have the same plan every day.

"We do what weve been doing," he said. "We just come out. Swing the bats early and play solid defense. It doesnt matter who we play. We dont really play against the other team. We just play ourselves every day."

Another day, another one-run victory at the Aquarium

Player/manager Ernie Munoz goes aft

Player/manager Ernie Munoz goes after a passed ball as Eric Herman heads for first. (Photo by Josh Szwaczkowski)

By Karen Boehler
Pecos League writer

ALAMOGORDO -- It was yet another down-to-the-wire match between Alpine and White Sands Wednesday, with the Cowboys squandering a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the bottom of the ninth to give the Pupfish an 8-7 victory.

"Were playing one of the better teams in the league, so Alpine and us, I think its going to be a battle every day," said White Sands manager Ernie Munoz. "Its been a one-run game this whole series, so were just playing good baseball right now and were going to keep rolling with it."

For the most part, it was the starters who had a rough time as most of the runs came early in the game.

Alpine went up 4-0 after half an inning off Jason Kuks. Derrick Fox, Eric Herman and Casanova Donaldson all singled, then, two outs later, D.J. Johnson walked and Brycen Bell hit a 2-RBI single. Billy Crowe followed that with yet another single, and Alpine had what looked like a solid lead.

But, Munoz said, those hits were nothing to write home about.

"It was a bleeder here and a duck-walk here. They werent solid hits. There were about seven bloop singles today, just hitting them where our guys werent."

And White Sands came back in the bottom of the stanza, scoring three off Gilbert Barrera.

J.J. Collins, Ernie Munoz and Cody Collins all singled, scoring Collins, then, with two outs, Mark Leacox doubled to make it 4-3 Alpine. Then, while the Cowboys shut down for the next two innings, the "Fish continued adding runs.

In the second, J.J. Costantino singled, Christian Ramirez walked and Munoz and Collins singled to make it 5-4. White Sands added a solo run in the third when Leacox doubled and Jerry Gonzales singled, but the Cowboys again battled back in the fourth.

Fox was hit and came home on a wild pitch and error that put Donaldson on first. Then, with two outs, Joel Carranza doubled him in, tying the game at 6-6.

The fifth saw the Pupfish again go on top when Leacox singled and Kuks doubled him in, then, after a scoreless sixth and seventh, both teams scored in the eighth.

Fox walked, stole second and came home on a Herman single that tied the game at 7-7, but White Sands took the lead in the bottom of the seventh when J.J. Costantino walked, advanced on two fly balls and scored on a wild pitch.

That set up the ninth.

Nick Alexander gave up a single to Logan Lotti, then Carranza reached on an error. The firsrt out advanced both runners, then Alexander hit Mike Dobre, loading the bases. But Alexander struck out the two pinch hitters that came to bat, ending the game with a one-run victory.

"He has ice in his veins," Munoz said when asked why he didnt pull Alexander. "He doesnt feel the pressure in that situation. So we didnt doubt him the whole time. We were comfortable with it and we came out on top."

As far as offense, both teams had 14 hits and three walks, including a pair of doubles.

"We have a strong offense," Munoz said. "Weve known that from the get-go. It was just our bullpen, it was a matter if were were going to turn that around. I think we made a couple of errors here and there in the past three games, but errors are down. The defense is looking up and weve made a few changes to our bullpen and were ready to go now."

That includes trying to take three out of four from the Cowboys in Thursdays closer.

"Were going to come out," Munoz said. "Thats what were looking to do so well take it game by game and well see how tomorrow goes."

Cowboys hang on for win despite late Pupfish come back

Derrick Fox gets the ball in time t

Derrick Fox gets the ball in time to put White Sands player/manager Ernie Munoz out at second. (Photo by Josh Szwaczkowski)

By Karen Boehler
Pecos League writer

ALAMOGORDO -- White Sands started and finished strong at home Tuesday, but the middle innings belonged to Alpine, giving the Cowboys an 8-7 victory at the Aquarium.

"Yeah, we held on," said Cowboy manager Ryan Stevens. "We finally woke up. We were asleep at the wheel early on and finally decided to wake up and play a little baseball. I dont think we played particularly well, but we did wake up and put a couple of runs on the board and it was enough for us to win."

The Pupfish put one on board in the first when J.J. Costantino scored on a Cody Collins double, and one in the second when Chris DeBiasi reached on an error then came around on singles by Matt Gibbs and Costantino.

Alpine got its first run in the third on singles by Brycen Bell, Derrick Fox and Casanova Donaldson, but White Sands came back with two in the bottom of the stanza.

Cody Collins reached on a fielders choice, then scored on a single by George Ban and RBI double by DeBiasi. Ban came home on a groundout, making it 4-1.

But the Cowboys closed the gap on a two-run home run by D.J. Johnson after a Logan Lotti single, and while a single by Costantino and RBI double by Munoz made it 5-3, that was all the scoring the "Fish would get until the ninth. Meanwhile, Alpine kept scoring.

"We actually got to their starter," Stevens said. "He kept us off balance for a good portion of the game with his cutter. We were chasing stuff in the dirt. Finally I think he started to get a little tired. I think somewhere between 60 and 80 pitches he started to get a little tired and thats when we hit a couple of big shots off of him."

The Cowboys put up two in the sixth when Lotti homered, scoring Donaldson; two in the seventh when Brycen Bell singled, Derrick Fox walked and Donaldson doubled them in; and a final run -- which would be the difference -- in the ninth.

Michael Willis and Brandon Kuter allowed the late-inning runs and that, said Pupfish manager Ernie Munoz, has been the teams downfall.

"It was our middle relief, like its been all year. I dont want to put it all on them, because it is a team sport and we need to get help from other areas but our bullpen definitely has to get better and come in and throw strikes. When they do, we usually come out on top. When they dont, we end up like tonight."

Fox doubled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a Lotti single to take an 8-5 lead. But the Pupfish werent ready to surrender.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Ban singled and scored on a Ban home run. Mark Leacox and Jerry Gonzales both singled, putting runners on base, but Alpine closer Scott Hartline bore down, getting a strikeout and fly ball to preserve the victory with a save.

"Their closer, he came in and I thought we hit him well," Munoz said. "We scored two runs off him and we were a couple of feet from tying the game up. J.J. Costantino line out to left with two outs but hit the ball hard."

Shane Youngdale got the Cowboy win, going seven, with White Sands reliever Michael Willis getting the loss.

"Youngdale struggled early on, but he settled down his last four innings," Stevens said. "He got us to the bullpen in the seventh and our bullpen was solid tonight. Scott had a little rough edge, but hes gotta go through his lumps. This is his first year as a closer and hes evolving and getting better as hes going through adversity and adapting to getting hit around a little."

Offensively, Fox was 3-for-4 with two runs; Johnson 2-for-3 with 1 run and 2 RBI; Bell 2-for-4 with two runs; and Donaldson and Lotti both 3-for-5 with 3 RBI. Donaldson scored one run; Lotti two.

Costantino was 3-for-5 for the "Fish with two runs and an RBI; Ramirez, Ban and DeBiasi 2-for-4; and Munoz and Leacoz 2-for-5.

Once again, the plus for the Pupfish was their never-say-die attitude.

"Like weve been doing the last week or so, we have a lot of fight in us," Munoz said. "Were not going to give up. Its just a matter of staying ahead when we get ahead. We continue to let the better teams stay in the game with us and we should shut them down."

The teams will meet again Wednesday and Thursday -- both games at 6 p.m. in the Aquarium -- which will be the eighth and ninth meetings of the season.

"That only gets harder," Munoz said. "The more the pitchers, for any team, in any league, the more the pitchers see hitter, they have a step up on them. THey know their weaknesses and it just gets harder to hit."

Zagone- Weidman face off in Aquarium battle

Alpine pitcher Bryce Weidman watche

Alpine pitcher Bryce Weidman watches as the ball comes in. Weidman didn"t get any hits, but pitched a strong six innings. (Photo by Josh Szwaczkowski)

By Karen Boehler
Pecos League writer

ALAMOGORDO -- After several nights of mostly-close high-scoring games, the fans at the Aquarium were treated to something a bit different Memorial Day: an old-fashioned pitchers duel.

Starters Eric Zagone (White Sands) and Bryce Weidman (Alpine) faced off through six innings, with the score a mere 3-1 Pupfish when Weidman left the mound. Five more pitchers wrapped up the day, but in the end, the Cowboys couldnt get enough runs across, falling to the "Fish 4-3.

"It was a very good game," said White Sands manager Ernie Munoz. "Its the best baseball Ive seen since Ive been here. I think the only error in the game was a play where our shortstop threw it to our first baseman and the ball went through his glove. Our first basemans glove broke. The ball went through it and they called it an error, I guess. Other than that, all the plays were made on both sides. There was no chatter going back and forth. We just played real good baseball. Fun."

And they played close baseball, with neither team able to put up more than one run in any inning.

White Sands drew first blood when, in the bottom of the first, Jerry Gonzales singled, stole second and came home on a put out. Alpine tied the game in the second when Logan Lotti walked, advanced to second on another walk and third on a fielders choice then scored on a Billy Crowe double.

After that one sort-of error in the top of the fourth -- which didnt result in any runs -- Cody Collins walked in the bottom of the stanza; Andrew Parrish singled; Mark Leacox reached on an error to load the bases then Joey Friedman made it 2-1 Pupfish.

White Sands got its third run in the fifth when Gonzales singled, stole second and came home on a single by George Ban.

After a scoreless sixth, both sides put up a run in the seventh to make it 4-2.

Dustin Sandberg homered for Alpine, and Christian Ramirez singled and came home on a Collins double for the Pupfish. That winning run was given up by reliever Josh Cruse, who couldnt get any outs in the stanza, but Derrick Mitchell came in to close down both the seventh and eighth.

The Cowboys put up one more run in the eighth when three batters, led by Casanova Donaldson, walked off relievers D.J. Stinsman and Chad Hadzinsky. Joel Carranza flew out to center, scoring Donalson, but the other runners were stranded as Hadzinsky got the third out of the inning, then only faced four batters in the ninth to get thewin.

"Bryce didnt have his best stuff but he still competed and gave us a chance to win," said Alpine manager Ryan Stevens. "We made a costly error. We struggled out of some jams. We left runners on."

And more than that, Stevens said, his team only found out at 10:30 p.m. Sunday that Mondays game would be a 1 p.m. start.

"We had a two hour trip here this morning," the manager said. "I dont know what to say. I"m not going to make excuses. My guys were dragging ass today."

Munoz said that early start might have been a plus for his squad.

"For us, Eric Zagone came in and he just threw a lot of strikes (7). So we were able to get a lot of balls put in play and our defense made all the plays and everything seemed pretty easy," he said. "I dont know if it was because it was early on in the day. The guys werent as tired. I dont know. But both teams pitchers threw very well."

Hits were few and far between for both sides, as White Sands only allowed six and Alpine nine, but Collins was 2-for-3 for the "Fish with one run and RBI; Ban was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI; and Gonzales 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Crowe was the only Cowboy with more than one hit, going 2-for-3 with 1 RBI.

The teams will meet again Tuesday, with game time set for 6 p.m.

Alpine Cowboys 8 White Sands Pupfish 7

Alpine Cowboys 8 White Sands Pupfish 7

This game was played on 5/28/2013 at Griggs Park

Triggers split with Pupfish after late-game rally

Pupfish manager J.D. Droddy argueso

Pupfish manager J.D. Droddy arguesover a foul ball while a photographer with a documentary film crew catches the action. (Photo by Josh Szwaczkowski)

By Karen Boehler
Pecos League writer

ALAMOGORDO -- It was another thriller for the fans at the Aquarium Sunday, as the Pupfish and Triggers again battled right down to the wire, with the Triggers taking an 11-10 ninth-inning victory over the home team.

And, just like Saturday, Sunday saw a pitcher hit a home run. This time, it was Trigger Benji Waite, who came in to pitch with one out in the seventh and gave up one run in the eighth.

But trailing 10-9 in the top of ninth, Waite hit a one-out blast to tie then game, then, with two outs, Jacob Fabry homered for the win.

"It was another night for pitchers, but we did have the two home runs on the night, one by our closer and one by our captain," said Trinidad manager J.D. Droddy. "It was a fun game."

Maybe not so much early, as White Sands jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, scoring when J.J. Costantino walked, Jerry Gonzales and Ernie Munoz both singled and Cody Collins doubled. The home team made it 5-0 in the third when Munoz doubled and scored on a George Ban single.

That lead held until the fifth, when Trinidad finally got on board.

Bryce Miller walked then, with two outs, Fabry, Sam DiMatteo and Frank Florio all singled, with Mike Goldy hitting a 3 RBI double to cut the Pupfish lead to 5-4.

White Sands came back in the bottom of the stanza when Munoz walked, Collins was hit and Mendoza doubled them in. Mendoza made it 8-4 when he scored on a Ban sacrifice.

Grant Ledbetter left the mound after six -- "He wasnt throwing his best game but he gutted it out. Got six innings for us," Droddy said -- but he wrapped up his time on the mound with a scoreless inning.

In the seventh, Trinidad put two runs on the board with a Fabry single, a hit batter, two walks and a put out. One more out and Miller singled to make it 8-7. But the "Fish gave themselves a cushion, scoring when reliever Jason McCurry walked and and allowed a Chris DeBiasi single. Waite then came on and struck out Joey Friedman but a wild pitch plated Ban.

The Triggers went up in the top of the eighth on singles by Fabry, DiMatteo and Goldy, and an RBI double by Wink Nolan, but the Pupfish again came back, going up 10-9 when Costantino singled, Munoz was intentionally walked and Collins hit an RBI single.

That set up the ninth-inning fireworks that ended with the Trigger come-from-behind win.

"We like to score early and often and this time we scored often late," Droddy laughed, noting that the events of the last few nights make the decision to go to National League rules look like a wise one.

"The pitchers are hitting. They let the pitchers hit this year and theyre taking advantage of it," he said.

Ledbetter was 2-for-3 for Trinidad with a double and a run scored, while Waite had the home run, giving him ones across the board.

Both teams hit well, with Fabry 4-for-4 with four runs and an RBI; DiMatteo 3-for-5 with three runs; Goldy 3-for-5 with 5b RBI; and Nolan 3-for-4 with 2 RBI. On the other side, manager/catcher Munoz was 2-for-2with three runs and 2 RBI; Gonzales was 3-for-4 with two runs; Collins 2-for-4 with one run and 3 RBI; and Costantino 2-for-4 with two runs.

Winning in front of a small crowd of Trigger fans as well as Pupfish, Droddy said, "It was a big victory, so we split the series with them."

And, going by the baseball adage, "win at home, split on the road," the manager was pleased.

"Absolutely," he said. "We were hoping to win three, but that didnt happen, and today we had to win to get the split and we did what we had to do."

Trinidad now heads home where theyll face Santa Fe for the first time this year in a four-game, home and home series.

The Pupfish will again host Alpine, with the big difference the presence of Munoz, who wasnt yet on board during the first series.

Pitcher Kuks hit two home runs including a grand slam for Pupfish

Pupfish hang on despite ninth-inning grand slam by DiMatteo

Pupfish Matt Gibbs throws to a Trin

Pupfish Matt Gibbs throws to a Trinidad batter during Fridays game at the Aquarium. (Photo by Josh Szwaczkowski)

By Karen Boehler
Pecos League writer

ALAMOGORDO -- For the third night in a row, it was a down-to-the-wire game at the Aquarium in Alamogordo. Friday, the Pupfish edged Trinidad 9-7 after the Triggers came back from a 9-3 deficit in the ninth with a grand slam home run by Sam DiMatteo, but Nate Alexander bore down to get the final outs.

Pupfish manager Ernie Munoz said he wasnt concerned as the Triggers closedvthe gap.

"I wasnt worried the whole time," he said. "We had our closer (Alexander) in with a huge lead, something hes not used to, so his job is when were in a closer game. Two or three runs. So once that home run happened I think he got more comfortable."

For most of the game the scoring was on the White Sands side of the scoreboard, and Trigger manager J.D. Droddy had kind words for the winners.

"It was a very exciting ballgame in Alamogordo tonight. We came up on the short end but I thought we played pretty well," he said. "White Sands played well. They made some excellent plays. (J.J.) Constantino in center field made a fantastic diving catch that cost us maybe one or two runs. Their starting pitcher, (Matt) Gibbs), did an excellent job. One of my players called him "a crafty pitcher. I agree with that. He doesnt have overpowering stuff but he did a great job. I congratulate White Sands on a hard-won victory and the fans really enjoyed it."

Neither side scored in the first, but after Joey Friedman tripled in the second, he was thrown out on a fielders choice by Jerry Gonzalez, then Gonzales came around on a walk and error.

Trinidad went up 3-1 in the third. Dylan Porter reached on a fielders choice and scored on a Matt Hunt single and Jacob Fabry double. Mike Goldy then doubled Hunt and Fabry in.

But the Pupfish came back in the bottom of the stanza, scoring when Christian Ramirez singled, went to second on an error and came home on a single by George Ban. Cody Collins then walked, Chris DeBiasi was hit, and Ban came in on an out. Gonzales then singled in Collins to make it 4-3, and from then until the ninth, all the scoring came from the "Fish.

The fourth looked a lot like the fifth from the White Sands perspective.

Constantino and Ramirez singled, then, after Ban hit into a fielders choice, Constantino scored on a Collins single; Ban scored on a single by Andrew Parrish; and Collins and Parrish scored on a 2 RBI single by DeBiasi.

In the fifth, Gonzales singled, advanced on two outs and scored on a passed ball, then things quieted down until the top of the ninth.

Will Leonard and Andrew Azzopardi singled and Richie Serritella was hit to load the bases. That set up DiMatteos heroics, and, on an 0-1 count, he blasted a shot out the park.

But Alexander, who came in in relief in the top of the inning, struck out Hunt; got Fabry to ground out and, after walking Goldy, struck out big Trigger hitter Florio to end the inning and game.

Munoz, who just managed Friday, sounds happy with what hes seeingf.

"Were playing well," he said. "Our starters did well today. Matt threw a great game today. I think he went seven. He had six strikeouts. Didnt give up too many hits (six). George Ban, our left fielder, he had a few hits in there (3-for-5, two runs, 1 RBI) and a huge defensive play in the outfield. We had a talk last night after the game, and I think the wheels are going to start rolling here."

And, after several days with numerous errors, the Pupfish only had two.

"I was really happy with our defense. That was part of the conversation we had with the team last night. We just have to start making the routine plays, and we did that to the best of our ability tonight."

The teams will be back at it Saturday with a 6 p.m. start at the Aquarium.

"It was a good ball game and well come back tomorrow expecting to take the lead in the series," Droddy said. "We always expect to win and tomorrows no different. Weve got a great team. Theres no quit in them. I love my guys. They play hard. Weve got a lot of talent and were coming back to play hard again and hope maybe the White Sands fans will turn out and get their moneys worth. They certainly got their moneys worth tonight."