ALBUQUERQUE – For six innings Tuesday, the Bloomfield High baseball team appeared poised to extend its NMAA postseason journey, leaning on early power and gritty pitching.
In the final frame, however, the Bobcats’ defensive armor cracked, allowing Goddard to roar back for a 5-3 walk-off victory Thursday morning at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex in Albuquerque that ended Bloomfield’s season in heartbreaking fashion.
The Bobcats (18-10), seeded No. 10 in the Class 4A tournament, built an early 3-0 lead and carried a narrow one-run advantage into the bottom of the seventh. However, a lead-off error and a series of clutch hits from the Rockets turned a potential celebration into a season-ending defeat in the state tournament.
Bloomfield wasted no time asserting dominance. In the first inning, Troy Jaramillo sparked the offense with a triple to right field, scoring moments later on a Cable Carruth double. The Bobcats added a second run in the frame when Elias Munoz reached on an error by the Goddard shortstop.
Johnny Yates provided what looked to be the insurance the Bobcats needed in the third, launching a solo home run to left field to push the lead to 3-0.
On the mound, Elias Munoz was masterful through the first four innings, keeping the Rockets off the scoreboard and escaping a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. He finished with six strikeouts, battling through several hit batters and walks to keep Bloomfield in front.
Goddard began its steady climb in the fifth when Drake Brown tripled home Oliver Wakefield. The Rockets pulled within one in the sixth on an RBI single from Marcos Rodriguez, but Munoz induced a crucial fielder’s choice to escape further damage.
The wheels came off for Bloomfield in the bottom of the seventh. Drake Brown reached on a lead-off pop fly error, and Jaden Fuentes eventually tripled him home to tie the game at 3-3.
With the winning run 90 feet away, Bloomfield opted for strategy over the strikeout, intentionally walking the next two batters to set up a force play at any base. The gamble didn’t pay off. Rodriguez drove a fly ball to right field that fell for a double, scoring Fuentes and Jadon Herrera to seal the comeback win for Goddard.
Junior pitcher Jadon Herrera pitched the final four innings of the game for the Rockets after relieving starter Lucien Betancur. Herrera allowed only one hit and two walks, striking out three and earning the win.
The loss marks a sudden end for a Bloomfield squad that advanced to the quarterfinals after a pair of high-scoring wins in the first round over district rival Aztec. The Bobcats finished the game with six hits, including the home run by Yates and the early extra-base hits from Jaramillo and Carruth, but were unable to overcome three errors and the Rockets’ late-inning surge.