BASEBALL

Aztec homers its way to district win over Bloomfield

Steven Bortstein
Farmington Daily Times

AZTEC − Only a handful of local prep baseball and softball teams braved the cold, windy weather on Tuesday to get district games into the record books.

Aztec and Bloomfield fought through the conditions on their respective home fields while Navajo Prep also got on the field at the Farmington Sports Complex.

Meantime, Kirtland Central, Shiprock and Farmington High Schools opted to wait and play another day.

Here's a look at some of the local baseball and softball action.

Baseball

Aztec walks it off over Bloomfield

Aztec's Xavier Newton reaches first base just ahead of a throw to Bloomfield's Trae Woods in the bottom of the second inning of a game, Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at Fred Cook Memorial Stadium.

Jacob Prada-Johnson's solo home run to centerfield with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning broke a 6-6 tie and lifted the Aztec High School baseball team to a 7-6 win over District 1-4A rival Bloomfield on a frigid Tuesday afternoon at Fred Cook Memorial Stadium.

Playing through intermittent showers and a consistent cold breeze, the Tigers kicked off the district season the right way, earning its third win in the last five games and improving to 9-6 overall on the season.

Aztec led the game 3-1 after two innings of play, but squandered away that advantage as Bloomfield found itself on the lead 4-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. Blake Spencer gave the Bobcats the lead with a 2-RBI single that drove in Drew Perez and Jesus Camacho.

The lead switched back and forth several times, with Aztec retaking the lead in the bottom of the fifth after Tyler Ray scored off a double by Prada-Johnson.

Bloomfield tied the game at 6-6 in the top of the seventh inning thanks to an error by Tigers third baseman Xavier Newton, allowing Trae Woods to score.

Bloomfield pitcher Francisco Rivera got both Sylas Hengst and Kaleb Thornburg to ground out for the first two outs of the bottom of the seventh inning before Prada-Johnson drove a 2-1 pitch over the fence for the win.

Rivera threw 6 2/3 innings, striking out six and allowing only three walks in a losing effort. The Bobcats have lost three in a row and fall to 10-4 (0-1 District) on the season. Bloomfield will look to bounce back on Thursday at home against Shiprock.

Aztec will be on the road for its next pair of district games, starting Thursday at 3 p.m. against Miyamura followed by a trip to Kirtland Central on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Rehoboth Christian takes pair from Navajo Prep

It was a tough afternoon for the Navajo Prep baseball team, which lost both halves of a doubleheader to Rehoboth Christian by scores of 16-2 and 18-9 on a cold Tuesday afternoon at the Farmington Sports Complex,

The Lynx scored five times in the second, third and fourth innings on its way to the early 16-2 win, then came back in the nightcap to outscore the Eagles 18-9.

Navajo Prep drops to 2-10 on the current season and have lost six in a row. The Eagles will be back in action on Thursday for a road doubleheader against Laguna-Acoma.

Softball

Bloomfield outscores Aztec

Bloomfield High's Angel Campbell scored four times and went 4 for 4 at the plate as the Lady Bobcats outscored Aztec 15-10 to open the District 1-4A campaign on a winning note Tuesday afternoon at Bloomfield High School.

Campbell had a double, a triple and drove in a pair of runs as Bloomfield snapped a three-game losing streak, improving to 7-10 (1-0 District) on the season.

Bloomfield led the contest 5-0 after one inning and extended that margin to 7-0 through three innings before the Lady Tigers fought back, scoring four unanswered runs heading to the bottom of the fifth inning. Bloomfield countered back, scoring four times to open up a commanding 11-4 lead.

The Lady Tigers again made a charge for the lead, with Nizhoni Yellow, Reagan Bradshaw, Elena Talamante and Lacie Langford each driving in runs as Aztec scored six times in the top of the sixth inning to trim Bloomfield's lead to 11-10.

Campbell came up big for the Lady Bobcats in the bottom of the frame, driving in Caitlin Zepeda in a four-run inning also highlighted by a two-run home run off the bat of Haleigh Pecotte that helped sealed the deal.

The loss drops Aztec's record on the season to 7-8 (0-1 District) ahead of a home game against Miyamura on Thursday at 3 p.m. while Bloomfield will be on the road Thursday at 3 p.m. to battle Shiprock.