By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
A back-and-forth “Battle of Southmost” baseball game ended with the Porter Cowboys pulling off a 6-4 District 32-5A win Tuesday night on the Lopez Lobos’ diamond.
The Cowboys led 3-0 after one inning, fell behind 4-3 during the bottom of the sixth and eventually won 6-4 by scoring three runs during the top of the seventh.
“We knew we had another chance all the way to the last out,” said Porter pitcher Cesar Lartigue, who went the distance and threw 112 pitches in earning the mound victory. “We kept fighting for the win. As long as you have another out to play, you always have a chance.”
The victory keeps Porter alive for a playoff spot with a 5-6 record. Lopez, also in the playoff hunt, slipped to 7-4.
“This feels great because we’ve been in every single game,” Porter coach Oscar Cortez said. “We’ve lost some games in the late innings, and tonight it felt the same way. It feels great because we came back in the seventh and scored those (three) runs that we needed to win.
“Everybody is beating everybody in our district,” Cortez added. “I think a team with a 7-7 record will go (to the playoffs).”
Porter’s Cristos Sauceda belted a two-run double to left field in the top of the seventh with two outs to break a 4-4 deadlock and provide his team with the runs it needed for the victory.
Earlier in the seventh, with one out, teammate Marco Castro, Porter’s leadoff batter, hit a double to left-center field that tied the score at 4.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Lobos couldn’t get a runner beyond second as the Cowboys retired the side and ended the game after facing five Lopez batters.
During the top of the first, a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Lartigue, an RBI single by Eric Rico and a sacrifice bunt by Daniel Elizarde accounted for Porter’s 3-0 early lead.
Lopez pulled within 3-1 during the bottom of the fifth when a throw to third from first sailed high, allowing Andres Hernandez to come home.
The Lobos then made it a 3-2 game thanks to an RBI single to left-center field by Robert Guerra during the bottom of the sixth.
When the two teams played during the first round of district on March 22, the Lobos captured a 5-3 win against the Cowboys.