Hobbs opens spring football 3-day session, focused on learning offense

Clayton Jones/News-Sun

Hobbs' Javon King at the Eagles' spring workout

Tuesday at Watson Stadium.

  It's clear first-year Hobbs football coach Charles Gleghorn wants to use every moment he can to get the Eagles ready for the 2012 season as Hobbs opened a three-day spring football session Tuesday at Watson Stadium.
  Each practice session is an hour with Thursday culminating in a 7:30 p.m. "Under the Lights" practice open to the public at Watson Stadium.
  As I wrote in my article for Wednesday's News-Sun, the Eagles focused mainly on offense, learning Gleghorn's no-huddle spread offense. It was a lot of learning the calls and signals Tuesday while going through the basic plays.

Seven-run fifth costs NMJC, loses to Cisco College 7-2 at regionals

NMJC's Camron Smith throws a pitch Sunday against Cisco.

  LUBBOCK — It started with a solo home run by Jesus Villalobos and was capped by a three-run double by Mark Davis as 13th-ranked Cisco put up seven runs in the fifth inning against New Mexico Junior during the T-Birds’ 7-2 loss to the Wranglers on Sunday in the Region V Tournament winner’s bracket semifinal at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
  NMJC will play Clarendon College 10 a.m. Monday in an elimination game in this double-elimination tournament.

Same season-long troubles come back to bite Hobbs, Eunice baseball

Hobbs' Victor Porras pitches in relief Thursday.

  It was a tough day for prep Lea County baseball teams Thursday as both Hobbs and Eunice were eliminated from their respective classification's state tournament.
  In both instances, it was troubles Hobbs and Eunice had battled all season that came back to bite them in the rear.
  The 12th-seeded Eagles, winners of nine consecutive games heading into Thursday, walked 11 batters, committed three errors and managed just two hits during a 5-1 loss to No. 4 Volcano Vista in the Class 5A state quarterfinals at La Cueva High School in Albuquerque.

Hobbs boys golf wins first state title since '88, Fadke goes back-to-back

Hobbs Schools Photo

The 2012 Hobbs boys Class 5A State Championship golf team.

  The Hobbs golf team showed plenty of resilience in winning the Class 5A state golf championships Tuesday at New Mexico State University Golf Course in Las Cruces.
  The Eagles were coming off a disappointing runner-up finish in the district tournament just the week before at the same NMSU Golf Course. The big question was: How the Eagles would respond?
  They did so with a bang.

Peaking No. 12 Eagles impressive in first-round sweep of No. 5 Mayfield

Clayton Jones/News-Sun

Hobbs' Brayden Price celebrates after the final out

of the Eagles' sweep of Mayfield on Saturday.

  LAS CRUCES — If not for the tree-spotted mountains in view behind Apodaca Park in Las Cruces instead of the endless horizons of southeast New Mexico, most would’ve thought No. 12 Hobbs was the better seed and host team instead of No. 5 Mayfield following the Eagles’ two-game dismantling of the Trojans this weekend.
  In every facet of the game the Eagles were better in this Class 5A state tournament best-of-three, first-round matchup.
  — Hobbs out-hit Mayfield 19-9, including knocking seven extra-base hits compared to one for Mayfield (a home run in the sixth inning of game two with the Trojans already down 6-2).

Hobbs baseball a dangerous 12th seed in Class 5A state tournament

Clayton Jones/News-Sun

Hobbs' Caleb Young

  As I returned home from Albuquerque on Sunday and hopped online to find out where the Lea County teams were going to be seeded for the state softball and baseball tournaments (go to nmact.org to see full brackets), I was surprised to find Hobbs baseball seeded 12th and hitting the road to play No. 5 Mayfield 5 p.m. Friday in the first game of a best-of-three series.
  Particularly considering Carlsbad – the team the Eagles tied with atop District 4-5A (but lost a run-differential tiebreaker by two runs) – picked up the third seed.
  I guess to me it's puzzling how two teams that played so close throughout the season are nine seeds apart in a 16-team tournament.

Hobbs baseball's sweep of Carlsbad changes outlook on Eagles' season

Clayton Jones/Hobbs News-Sun

Hobbs' Ricky Aranda scores the winning run against Carlsbad in game one

of a doubleheader on Saturday at Sportsman Field in Hobbs.

  The split second after Hobbs pitcher David Thomas froze Carlsbad’s Broc Landreth with strike three to complete the doubleheader sweep of the Cavemen under the sizzling Saturday sun at Sportsman Field, the Eagles had the look of a completely different ballclub than the one that arrived just hours earlier.
  Any doubts Hobbs had about its ability to not just compete, but defeat a top-tier team in the state lifted by handing district-rival Carlsbad a pair of losses – a Caveman team that entered Saturday’s contest 17-3 on the season and was considered a top-three team in the Land of Enchantment.
  Sure, the wins are important because it ties Hobbs with the Cavemen for first in District in 4-5A at 3-3 with each having a pair of games left at home against 2-2 Clovis (Hobbs hosts Clovis on Tuesday, Carlsbad plays Clovis on Saturday). Carlsbad owns the tiebreaker with Hobbs, however, via run differential as the Cavemen have outscored the Eagles by two runs in splitting their four district contests.
  In short, the Eagles need to sweep Clovis and have Carlsbad drop one to the Wildcats in order for Hobbs to bring home its second consecutive district championship.