Broncos fall to Gallup Catholic in 1A finals

ALBUQUERQUE — It wasn’t Floyd’s day on Friday.

Top-seeded Gallup Catholic collected 15 hits — two doubles, the rest singles — and scored in five innings to beat the Broncos 10-1 in the Class 1A state baseball championship game at Isotopes Stadium.

Senior left-hander Taylor Jones and junior right-hander Ryan Nichols combined on a five-hitter for the top-seeded Panthers (17-5), who opened a 4-0 lead with a three-run third and stayed in control the rest of the way.

“They did a good job of hitting,” Floyd coach Darwin Chenault said. “They put the ball in play.”

Sophomore Anthony Lopez went 3-for-4 with three RBIs for Gallup Catholic, while junior Henry Joe and sophomore A.J. Noriega also went 3-for-4.

Jones, a soft-tossing lefty, worked the first three innings before Nichols, a hard-throwing right-hander, finished it up.

The Broncos (13-8) pulled to 4-1 in the fourth on a single by Luis Ortiz and an RBI double by Chet Chenault. The Panthers added two runs each in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Coach Chenault said Gallup Catholic didn’t necessarily hit the ball that har, but the Panthers were able to find holes.

“We didn’t do the things that had gotten us here,” coach Chenault said. “We pitched the ball pretty good today; we just didn’t get outs.”

Junior left-hander Blake Martin took the loss, working the first three innings. Ortiz and Chet Chenault combined to finish it up.

The coach also noted that Floyd junior Tori Tucker became the first girl to play in a baseball game at Isotopes Park.

Despite the disappointment of losing in the finals, the Broncos were pleased with their season in general.

“It was still a good experience for our kids,” coach Chenault said. “To go this far, it was an honor to play in Isotopes Park.”

They’d like to do it again next year.

“We’ve got a really strong class of juniors and sophomores coming up,” he said.