PERFECTION

The Littlefield Wildcats’ varsity baseball team punched their ticket to the Class 3A Area round of the Playoffs, behind a perfect game pitched by sophomore, Major McNeese, as the Wildcats took game two, 10-0, in Lamesa.

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 14-11 overall on the season.

“The guys have been struggling all the way through district with hitting, but they’ve continued to battle and we’ve been working on the little things; being patient at the plate, waiting on the right pitch, taking strikes when we need to take them,” “Coach Mitch McNeese said. They took everything we’ve been working on and put it into practice right here in this series. Everything we needed to do offensively, we did, everything we needed to do defensively, we stayed at the level we’ve been playing at, excellent. Pitching was immaculate; all three aspects of the game came together. We competed at the level we need to be at to be able to make a run in these play-offs.”

McNeese made quick work of the Buffaloes in the top of the first inning, as he got Adam Booth to chop out to the mound for out number one. Bret Davis and Aidan Galaviz both struck out swinging to retire the side.

In the home half of the first, McNeese struck out swinging for out number one, but Ian Mendez singled to center field and took second on a pitch, before Isaiah Rodriguez drew a walk to put two runners on for Littlefield. Brenden Bowman was hit by a pitch to load the bases, bringing Sam Hill on as the courtesy runner for the catcher.

Chip Green struck out looking for out number two, but Markus Rosales and Elijah Salazar drew back-to-back RBI-walks to put the Wildcats in front, 2-0, before Adam MacDonald grounded into a fielder’s choice to Davis at third, who stepped on the bag to end the inning.

In the top of the second, McNeese got Jaedyn Martinez to fly out to Rosales in right field for out number one. Gage McCall grounded out to Rodriguez at second base for out number two and Cody Hancock grounded out to Rodriguez at second base to retire the side.

Ja’Den Williams grounded out to Hancock at shortstop to begin the home half of the second and McNeese struck out swinging for out number two. Mendez hit a grounder to Hancock at shortstop, but he was able to beat a high throw to first, taking second on the error. However, Rodriguez would fly out to Galaviz in center field to end the inning.

McNeese continued to dominate on the mound as he got the Buffaloes to go three-up-and-three-down in the top of the third. Juan Rojas popped up to MacDonald behind first base for out number one and Laudin McDaniel was thrown out at first on a dropped third strike for out number two. Aiden Armendarez chopped out to Green at third, who got the out at first to retire the side.

Bowman grounded out to Hancock at shortstop to begin the bottom of the third inning and Green popped up to McCall at first base for out number two. But, Rosales drew a walk and Salazar singled to center field, moving Rosales to third, putting runners on the corners for Littlefield.

Salazar took second on the pitcher, before MacDonald hit a chopper to the left side that was fielded by Hancock at shortstop, but the throw to first pulled McCall off the bag, as two runs scored to extend their lead to, 4-0. Williams would ground out to Hancock at shortstop to end the inning.

In the top of the fourth, Booth flew out to Gabe Montalvo in right-center field for out number one and Davis was thrown out at first on a dropped third strike for out number two. Galaviz chopped out to Mendez at shortstop, who threw across to first for the third out to retire the side.

In the bottom of the fourth, McNeese drew a lead-off walk, before Mendez popped up to Booth behind the plate for out number one. Rodriguez singled through the right side, as McNeese went first-to-third on the play. Bowman ripped a two-RBI triple into the right-center field gap, bringing Hill on as the courtesy runner, as the Wildcats stretched their lead to, 6-0.

Green drew a walk and went all the way to second on a past ball and Rosales hit a chopper to Rojas at second base, but his toss to first was off the mark, as two more runs scored to stretch the lead to, 8-0. Hancock relieved Martinez on the mound for Stanton, as Rosales took second on a pitch. Salazar struck out swinging for out number two and MacDonald swung on strike three, but the ball got away from Booth behind the plate and he air-mailed the throw to first, allowing Rosales to score fro second and MacDonald to advance to second on the play, making the score, 9-0.

Montalvo popped up to second base to end the inning.

In the top of the fifth, Martinez lined out to Rosales in right field for out number one, McCall popped up to MacDonald at first in foul territory for out number two and Cody Hancock flew out to Montalvo in center field to retire the side.

In the bottom half of the inning, McNeese ripped a lead-off triple into the right-center field gap and a few pitches later, he stole home on a past ball, as the Wildcats walked it off with a, 10-0, victory over Stanton in five innings.

“When we got those four runs in the first inning, we were barreling balls up; that’s what we’ve been looking to do and it is contagious,” the coach said. “Once we got that going, it started a fire that Stanton couldn’t put out. I’ve seen teams hit themselves out, or came out flat the next day, and they [Stanton] came back with a different approach and they played harder and more focused, but we continued to produce runs and put the ball in play. We hustled on the bases and did everything we needed to do, so hopefully we can continue to roll and this will give us the confidence we need heading into Idalou.”

McNeese threw a five inning perfect game, earning four strikeouts in the contest.

“I trust my teammates, every day we practice, they don’t mess up, they’re clean and they’re real fundamental, so I just threw it over the plate and let them do what they do.”

He added, “It means the world to me to have thrown the first perfect game in Littlefield baseball history. I’ve grown up around Littlefield baseball, it’s all I’ve ever know; I did it for my dad, I just wanted to do it for him, it means the world to me.”

The Wildcats will take on Idalou in the Area round with game one set for Thursday at 7 p.m. Game two will be Friday at 1 p.m. and game three if needed will be 30 minutes after game two.

All games will be played at Lubbock- Cooper High School.