Gallup softball, Rehoboth Christian baseball put themselves in driver’s seat for league crown

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Apr 24, 2023 | Sports |

WINDOW ROCK

The district titles in baseball and softball will be decided this week in New Mexico.

A handful of games are scheduled, with the Rehoboth Christian baseball and the Gallup softball teams earning a solid lock for a league crown.

The Lynx(13-6 overall) defeated Laguna Acoma 15-4 and 17-1 on April 19 to open District 1-2A play, and they will play a doubleheader with Navajo Pine on Wednesday to end the district season.

“We have to be ready for Navajo Pine,” Lynx coach Anthony Sanchez said. “We never take anybody lightly. You just can’t in baseball. There are so many crazy things that could happen in baseball, so we gotta be ready.”

The Sanchez-coached team earned a split with top-ranked Menaul/Oak Grove on Saturday. Rehoboth won the first game 6-2, and the hybrid Albuquerque school won the second 9-5.

“It’s always good when you split with a team that’s in the top five,” Sanchez said. “It was a good confidence booster for us, knowing that we came out and played hard. We continued to play hard even when we were down in the second game.

“We made a run to come back, so it was a good confidence booster,” he added.

Sanchez said playing the likes of Menaul/Oak Grove shows that they can play with anybody in the state.

“To get one out of two was great,” he said. “We know that we can come out and compete.”

The Gallup team upped its record to 14-9 overall and 7-0 in District 1-4A play after shutting out Bloomfield 12-0 on Thursday and earning a 9-2 win over city rival Miyamura on Friday.

The Bengals will close the district season by hosting Aztec at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Gallup will play at Shiprock on Thursday at 3 p.m. and Miyamura on Saturday at 11 a.m.

“We got to stay humble and hungry,” Gallup coach William Haines said on Thursday. “We still got three more games, so the job is not done yet.”

Against Bloomfield, the defending 4A state champs got things going in the third frame by plating four runs. The Bengals added four more runs in the fourth, and in the fifth, ace pitcher Seniah Haines ended the game with a three-run homer.

Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Gallup ace pitcher Seniah Haines (5) sent a three-run homer to centerfield in the bottom of the fifth frame that earned the Lady Bengals a 12-0 shut out win over the Bloomfield Lady Bobcats on April 20. Gallup has three district games left this week as it hopes to repeat as District 1-4A champions.

“We started to find our hitting the second time around our lineup,” the Gallup coach said. “I’m proud of the way the girls made their adjustments today. It’s all on the girls. They’ve been working hard on their hitting. All the credit to them.”

In its last outing with the Lady Bobcats, Haines said they won the game on Bloomfield’s mistake by posting a 3-0 win.

“The game was a lot closer, and we scored on some errors,” he said. “We weren’t hitting like we did today. The girls did really good with their hitting, and they adjusted.”

Pick up Thursday’s Navajo Times at your local newsstands for a more in-depth story.