Lady Bobcats edge Lady Patriots 10-8 in Saturday showdown

By Truman Begaye
Special to the Times

GALLUP – The Bloomfield Lady Bobcats carefully clawed their way to a 10-8 win over the Miyamura Lady Patriots on Saturday afternoon, securing their second consecutive victory since snapping a three-game losing streak the week prior.

The loss marked Miyamura’s fourth straight, evening their season record at 8-8.

“Miyamura’s always scrappy, and we knew that coming in,” said Bloomfield head coach Jose Santistevan. “In the last couple of games, we were struggling, so we identified some things we weren’t doing well and started improving. This district is tough from top to bottom. There’s not a team I want to face. When they come to our place in a week or so, it’s still going to be another battle—it won’t be easy.”

The Bobcats found their rhythm at the plate, collecting 17 hits, 10 RBIs, and 10 total runs. By comparison, in their previous game against Shiprock, they posted 8 hits, 7 RBIs, and 12 runs.

“We’ve started to hit the ball better,” Santistevan said. “We had a couple of home runs the other night at our place. We’ve got a lot of girls who can swing it—they were just missing. Now we’re starting to hit it hard and right.”

Bloomfield struck early, plating five runs in the first inning, including a home run by junior Cassidy Babcock. Miyamura responded with two runs of their own from junior Shelby Haskie and senior Andrea Vinson, ending the opening frame with a 5-2 score.

The Bobcats added two more runs in the second inning, with senior Tatum Lantana and freshman Elia Smith-Oliver both crossing home plate. The Patriots were held scoreless through the next four innings. Despite a competitive back-and-forth play in the third, fourth, and fifth, neither side added to the scoreboard.

In the sixth inning, the Patriots sparked a comeback attempt, scoring four runs to close the gap to 7-6.

Bloomfield countered in the top of the seventh, pushing across three more runs thanks to contributions from sophomore Harley Rightmire, senior Veronica Durall, and junior Mariah Ramero. Miyamura added two more runs in the bottom half—Vinson scoring again alongside freshman Phillicity Nez—but fell just short in the final push.

After the game, Miyamura head coach Anthony Wilson reflected on the team’s struggles at the plate.

“We just didn’t execute—especially at the plate,” Wilson said. “We had a lot of good pitches to hit, but we didn’t get the job done.”

Still, he praised his team’s fight: “We had a lot of fight in us. Honestly, we expected to come back. We executed when they made mistakes, and they executed when we made mistakes.”

Miyamura looks to regroup as they prepare to host Shiprock on Tuesday, with hopes of turning things around in the second half of district play.

“We’re going to mix up the lineup, find the girls who are ready to execute, and try to go undefeated in the second half of district,” Wilson said.

Bloomfield, now riding a two-game win streak, will aim for a third straight victory when they travel to face the Kirtland Central Lady Broncos on Tuesday.

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