Clovis closes in on Cavegirls, but still get swept

No doubt, the Clovis High girls softball program has closed the gap on Carlsbad. The Lady Wildcats, though, still have a ways to go to catch their District 4-5A rivals.

Carlsbad did more little things right that Clovis and rode a pair of big innings Saturday to a 13-4, 7-1 sweep at Lady Wildcat Complex in the district opener for both teams.

The Cavegirls broke open a 3-2 lead with an eight-run explosion in the top of the fifth in the opener, then erased a 1-0 deficit with four runs in the third inning of the second game, capped by first baseman Tyree Ingram’s three-run homer.

Still, it was the Cavegirls’ ability to push runners along and make more of the routine plays that made the games seem more lopsided than they perhaps were.

“If you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves,” veteran Carlsbad coach John Tigert said. “Clovis is getting better in every phase of the game. They’ve improved a lot in a lot of different areas.

“We used to come in here and just win 20-0. Now I have to battle to try to get our girls fired up.”

Clovis coach Brandi Thomas came in thinking her team might challenge the Cavegirls.

“We had a great practice yesterday; we didn’t have any errors,” she said. “But today, we didn’t play very well.”

Allie Carrigan pitched an eight-hitter for Carlsbad (14-4) in the opener. The Cavegirls had eight consecutive batters reach with one out in the fifth, helped by two walks, three Clovis errors and a run-scoring wild pitch.

Designated player Vanessa Buendia went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs while three of her teammates, including Ingram, added two hits apiece.

Brittney Mascarenas went 2-for-4 for the Lady Cats (8-10), including an RBI single in the first and an RBI triple in the third. Elena Wimberly also had two hits.

Jasiman Dykes led off the Clovis first with a triple and scored on a wild pitch by eighth-grader Mary Jo Granger. Granger then hit Kim Lumsden, leading to a quick hook from Tigert.

Three other hurlers followed, and Carrigan worked the seventh to finish a combined six-hitter.

Ingram added a single and a walk for Carlsbad, while Buendia went 2-for-3 and scored three times. Carlsbad finished the game with 11 hits off junior left-hander Adrianna Aguilar.

Dykes went 2-for-3 for the Lady Cats, adding a third-inning double. First baseman Charlotte Varney also went 2-for-3.

“They’re a very solid team,” Thomas said. “Coach Tigert does a great job with them; they’re going to capitalize on your mistakes.

“Consistency is something we’ve stressed all year. Once we get that, we’ll be a pretty good team.”