Chinle pulls away late for 6-2 road win over Miyamura in Gallup

By Lee Begaye
Special to the Times

GALLUP

Chinle used a late surge at the plate and steady pitching to secure a 6-2 road win over Miyamura High School on Saturday afternoon.

Seniors Covington Jones and Hage Tsosie combined to hold the Patriots to three hits while allowing two runs. Chinle broke open a tied game with four runs over the final two innings as Miyamura cycled through pitchers in search of an answer.

The Wildcats struck first in the second inning. With the bases loaded, senior Kaleb Guy singled to center field, driving in two runs. Miyamura recorded an out on the play, but Chinle carried a 2-0 lead into the third.

Miyamura gradually worked its way back. Junior Ian Padavich delivered an RBI double to cut into the deficit, and in the fifth inning, senior Gage Sellers brought home the tying run with a ground ball to second base, scoring senior Coy Johnson to make it 2-2.

With two runners in scoring position later in the inning, Tsosie took over on the mound and struck out the final batter to end the threat and preserve the tie.

Chinle regained control in the sixth. After a pair of hits put runners on, Miyamura junior Julian Caraveo issued consecutive walks, including one with the bases loaded that brought in the go-ahead run. Senior Vaden Garcia entered in relief, but Chinle added another run on a bunt to take a 4-2 lead. Garcia settled in to strike out two and limit further damage.

The Wildcats added insurance in the seventh. Senior Mackaden Arthur tripled to center field to drive in a run, and Tsosie followed with an RBI double to extend the lead to 6-2.

Tsosie closed out the game on the mound, striking out five batters over the final two innings and inducing a groundout to end it.

After the game, Chinle head coach Charles Kimbrough praised his team’s effort.

“Congratulations, you just beat a really good team,” Kimbrough told his players.

After the team huddle, he shared, “It feels good to beat a team like Miyamura,” he said. “We’ve been doing a lot of hitting practice, and it showed today. Our hitting came around and kept us ahead.”

Kimbrough also highlighted the pitching performance down the stretch.

“We have a good lineup of pitchers. Covington Jones was wearing down, so Tsosie closed it out,” he said.

He added that the win could serve as a steppingstone moving forward.

“Winning like this prepares us for competing in the 3A North,” he said. “It’s anyone’s league, and we just need to play at the caliber we showed today.”

On Monday, Chinle improved to 14-3 overall and 5-1 in the 3A North after sweeping Monument Valley (5-15, 1-7). The Wildcats traveled to Window Rock and faced the Fighting Scouts on Wednesday. The results of that game were no available as the paper went to print.

Miyamura fell to 8-9 overall and 1-1 in district play. The Patriots travel to Kirtland Central (5-13, 1-1) on Tuesday and return home to face Aztec (12-6, 1-1) on Thursday.

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