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Jaguars now 4-3 in district after Wednesday’s 21-7 rout at Albuquerque Del Norte, now fifth in state 5A rankings
By Arnie Leshin
As soon as Capital High wrapped up Wednesday’s 21-7 football score triumph over Del Norte in Albuquerque, head coach Sig Rivera’s thoughts were on Espanola Valley.
The Sundevils blanked the visiting Jaguars, 14-0, back in March. Nothing new, for they’ve won 15 in a row over their District 2-5A rivals. Capital has won once, 12-1, in 2012, and that was on the road, but the Jags have never beaten them at home.
“We’ve got them at home Saturday,” said Rivera, “and that’s what we will focus on. We’ve got to get that Espan’ jinx off of our mind.”
Frustrating is what it is. Espanola has not been a candidate for state honors, and is currently 5-16 overall and 3-4 in district. From 2013 to 2017, it has turned back the Jaguars three times each season. In 2012, they split a pair.
And now it’s Capital taking over second place behind Los Alamos. The Jags are 4-3 in district after the Del Norte win, and 12-6 overall. They moved past Albuquerque Academy (5-4,13-9) when the visiting Chargers lost on Wednesday to Los Alamos, 15-5, in White Rock.
That put the Hilltoppers’ win streak at eight, upped their top spot mark to 8-1, and they are 15-8 overall.
But in the state 5A rankings, Capital holds down the fifth spot, Los Alamos is sixth, and Academy seventh.
In its third win this season over Del Norte (0-7, 3-16), Capital got away to a 12-0 lead while the home side responded with seven runs in the bottom of the second. But nothing more after that, while the Jaguars added three runs in the fourth and eight in the fifth to win via the 5-inning mercy-rule.
Sophomore catcher Emma George continued her red-hot hitting with a 4-for-4 game, two walks, and three RBI. Junior shortstop Yamile Cota added three hits and drove in two runs, and senior outfielder JoJo Bowannie went 3-for-3, walked twice, and batted in three runs.
Freshman Alex Fernandez was the winning pitcher. Four of the runs scored against were unearned due to errors.
“We saw the ball real well,” Rivera said. “and they hit the ball real good. We had that one bad inning, but we overcame that. Now we’ve got Espanola up next, and we should be fired-up for this one.”
