Pupfish Hold Off Vaqueros 10-9

July 20 2012 The White Sands Pupfish defeated the Las Cruces Vaqueros 10-9 at Griggs Park, overcoming a late Vaqueros rally to secure the victory. White Sands collected 13 hits and committed one error, while Las Cruces finished with 11 hits and two errors.

White Sands built a 7-1 lead through three innings, scoring three runs in the second and four in the third. The Pupfish added three runs in the sixth to take a 10-2 advantage before Las Cruces answered with five runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth. The Vaqueros’ late push fell short as the Pupfish held on in the bottom of the ninth.

Henry Gonzalez Jr. led the White Sands offense with three hits, three runs and five RBI, including his 16th home run of the season. Jordan Stouffer and Jacob Douglas also recorded three hits apiece, while Thomas Shull scored three runs and doubled. Joey Friedman drove in two runs, and Michael Haynes added an RBI.

Ryan Lauer paced Las Cruces with two hits, two runs, three walks and an RBI. Kevin Wager had two hits, including a triple, and Trevor Whyte drove in two runs. Las Cruces also received two RBI from pinch-hitter L. Stramp.

J.R. Broomberg earned the win for White Sands after allowing six runs on five hits in 6.1 innings, with seven walks and six strikeouts. Andrew Bakowski followed with 1.1 scoreless innings and three strikeouts, and Seth Merchant was credited with the save. Erik Gonsalves took the loss for Las Cruces after surrendering seven earned runs on nine hits in three innings.