Rams baseball falters late vs. Safford

The Maricopa High School baseball team lost its second straight game to visiting Safford with a 12-7 loss Friday afternoon. The Rams jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the second inning, and two more runs in both the fourth and fifth innings before sloppy play cost them in the latter innings.

Ram left fielder Kolter Hunt went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, and catcher Ryan Sarver drove in four runs on 2-for-3 hitting.

Right hander Hector Padilla helped the Rams protect their lead early, keeping the Bulldogs to a single unearned run through four innings. But a late-inning surge by Safford ultimately proved to be too much.

The Rams got on the scoreboard in the second inning after center fielder Brian Nechamkin hit a one-out double to right-center. Nechamkin then scored Hunt’s single to right. The next batter, first baseman Spencer Wilson, reached base on a throwing error. Second baseman Nate Campbell then walked to load the bases. Sarver was able to capitalize, driving in two runs with a hit up the middle.

In the next inning, the Bulldogs tallied a run on a past ball. However, this only seemed to be a slight bump in the road, as the Rams extended their lead in the fourth. Sarver drove in Hunt and Wilson with a double to left field, giving Maricopa a 5-1 advantage.

Any celebration by the Rams was short-lived, however, as the Bulldogs stormed back in the top of the fifth. Scoring six runs on a combination of timely hits and Rams errors, Safford took the lead for the first time.

The Rams retook the lead in the bottom of the inning when Nechamkin and Hunt again scored on hits by Wilson and Campbell. But the Rams began to play sloppily, allowing three runs in the sixth inning, two of them unearned, and two more in the seventh, and they were unable to mount any additional offense.

The loss drops the Rams’ record overall to 1-5, 1-3 in 3A South Region play. Next up for the Rams is a road trip Tuesday to Santa Cruz High School in Eloy.