CAVEMEN PITCHING STAFF IS CATCHING FIRE

The pitching staff has carried Carlsbad on its shoulders the last few weeks, and the numbers speak for themselves. Nate Arrington and Trevor Rogers resumed their dominance this past Friday against Gadsden. Arrington threw a complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts, while Rogers tossed a perfect game with 12 strikeouts. "We're battling. We're just throwing high, consistent strikes, and we're making people miss," Arrington said. "We're keeping our pitch count low, so we're able to shut out games and go seven innings. What better time than now?" Arrington has won his last three starts, improving to 4-3 with a 1.72 earned run average. Rogers is now 8-0 with a 0.47 earned run average, including three straight shutout victories. "We're doing a good job of getting ahead in the count and throwing strikes with consistency," said Rogers, who also threw a complete-game shutout April 15 at Volcano Vista. "It's good to see things come together." And whenever one or the other may need extra rest, such as when Rogers missed back-to-back twin bills against Roswell and Las Cruces to heal a sore hip, the Cavemen have starter Ty Castaneda and reliever Trey Castaneda for reinforcements. Ty Castaneda and Trey Castaneda appeared on the mound on April 4 against Roswell, posting back-to-back victories. The Cavemen have won four straight games and seven of their last eight since April 4. "It's great to finally catch fire and have the desire to win baseball games. Our pitching's just so dominant right now," said Trey Castaneda. Carlsbad's pitchers are pounding different areas of the strike zone, getting batters to swing and miss all over. The various locations are also making it harder for opposing hitters to make contact, forcing them to hit ground-outs and pop-outs. The Cavemen are also putting pressure on hitters by getting key strikeouts on 1-2 or 2-2 counts. Rogers said the pitchers have also been working on minimizing walks, something he said Carlsbad (18-6, 6-4) struggled with earlier in the season. Despite its struggles during the first part of District 3-6A play, Carlsbad is now in a position to potentially win another district title this upcoming Friday at Hobbs (16-8, 8-2). Because they own the tiebreaker against Centennial, a plus-3 point advantage, the Cavemen will win district if they win both games against the Eagles. Carlsbad is confident going in, especially with the way the rotation has been performing.

CAVEMEN PITCHING STAFF IS CATCHING FIRE

Photo Credit: Carlsbad Athletics