FARMINGTON – With the local Connie Mack qualifying tournament a little more than a week away, the top two teams in city league play were in action as they prepare for a berth in next month’s World Series.
The Frackers dominated its most recent city league game, dominating the Kirtland Broncos by a final of 11-0 Tuesday night at Ricketts Park.
The 505 Panthers, competing this week in a regional qualifying tournament in Denver, came up short in its opening game on Tuesday, losing 4-3 to the PTG Royals out of Lubbock, Texas.
Jared Owens of Coronado (Texas) High School threw a complete game for the Royals, striking out four batters and earning the win over the Panthers.
Owens, who went 2-0 as a starter last season for the Coronado Mustangs, was also named to the first team roster for Class 5A, Region I District 4 last season while also playing first base.
At the plate, Owens went 1-for-4 in Tuesday’s game against the Panthers, driving in a run as the Royals are now 2-0 in the tournament ahead of a third-round game Wednesday afternoon against the winner of a second round Wednesday morning game between the Albuquerque Baseball Academy and the MMW Colorado Victus out of Castle Rock.
The Panthers (7-3), which received an opening round bye in the regional qualifier, faced MMW Victus on Wednesday afternoon and again came up on the short end of the scoreboard, losing 7-2.
The Victus squad scored twice in the top of the first inning, then added four runs in the second inning before giving up a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. That was as close as the Panthers would come in the contest.
Bowen Tabola scored a pair of runs for Victus, going 2-for-3 at the plate. Colin McKenzie and Nathan Hopkins also collected a pair of base hits in the victory. Victus was aided by nine combined walks issued by Panthers pitchers Jacob Kuhn and John Bayless.
The ABA are coming off a 14-6 win in Tuesday’s opening round game against the Elite Baseball squad out of Arvada, followed by a 9-8 victory over the PTG Royals in second round action.
Gene Trujillo and Kai Fitak each drove in four runs for the ABA team, which hopes to secure a berth in the Connie Mack World Series with a championship in this regional qualifier.
Trujillo, from St. Pius High School and a recent commit to the University of New Mexico, went 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles. Fitak, from Rio Rancho High School, had a triple in the contest as ABA opened the scoring with an 11-run outburst in the bottom of the first inning.
The ABA will move on to the championship rounds of the regional tournament, which will be reseeded before the final days of action.
The Frackers improved to 7-2-1 on the current season after an 11-0 romp Tuesday evening at Ricketts Park over the Kirtland Broncos.
Drew Perez and Joseph Marek combined to strike out five Broncos hitters in the four-inning, run-rule victory. The Frackers opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning, then scored five runs in the third and fourth innings before the game was halted.
Elijah Wyatt and Alex Gilliam each had a pair of RBIs for the Frackers, who will be back in action Wednesday against NWNM Elite before wrapping up the week on Friday against the Shiprock Dodgers.
The Frackers and 505 Panthers are atop the standings of the Connie Mack city league schedule. Both teams, in addition to the four teams in the league, will likely compete in the local qualifying tournament which begins on the first week in July. The winner of that tournament will earn the title of host team for the CMWS, which gets underway on July 21.
“At the end of the day, our goal has always remained the same. And that’s to win the qualifying tournament and proudly represent the Four Corners in the Connie Mack World Series,” said Frackers head coach Eli Wyatt. “We’re committed to cultivating a strong team mentality, getting better in our individual roles and grinding out wins.”
The Frackers (7-2-1) have four more games to play during the current regular season schedule before awaiting to find out who and when they’ll face in the upcoming qualifying tournament.
