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By Karen Boehler
Pecos League writer
SANTA FE � After a long string of losses against southern division teams, Santa Fe finally got back on the winning side of the ledger Saturday, riding the pitching of Kevin Camacho to a 10-3 victory over the Pupfish.
�I think our guys played probably as well as we�re capable of,� said Santa Fe manager Bill Moore. �We pitched well. We played pretty solid defense. And swung the bat. Had some timely hits. I think we had several two-out RBIs. We preach a lot about when our team scores, we�ve got to throw a zero back at them, and when their team scores, we need to score back. And I think we did a pretty good job at that tonight.�
They did an excellent job, scoring in four innings where White Sands didn�t get anything across, and matching or beating the �Fish run totals in the two where White Sands did score.
And, they did it against Justin Kuks, who last time on the mound had a light-out performance to bring his record to 4-0. The Fuego handed him his first loss.
�He didn�t seem like himself today, that�s for sure,� said White Sands manager Ernie Munoz. �You�re not going to be perfect every day. They got the best of him. They beat him. You can�t expect to win them all.
Santa Fe also took advantage of four Pupfish errors, starting in the first when Josh Barnett reached on a mistake then came around on a passed ball and Devonte Odums single.
The Fuego made it 3-0 in the second on an Evan Mansell walk and William Smalls home run, then, after getting out of a bases-loaded situation in the top of the third unscathed, added another two runs in the fourth, this time on a Zimmerman single and Smalls homer.
White Sands finally scored in the fifth when Kuks singled then, with two out, Munoz singled and he and Kuks came home on a Cody Collins single.
But Santa Fe did that bottom-of-the-inning comeback, scoring three on singles by Barnett, Odums and Jimmy Maxwell; an error; and a 2 RBI single by Zimmerman.
After his two home runs, Smalls walked to open the sixth and scored on a bases-loaded walk.
The �Fish got their final run in the eighth on a Mark Leacox solo home run, but once again, the Fuego came back when Barnett singled, Odums doubled and Barnett scored on a put out.
Munoz said his entire team didn�t really look sharp Saturday.
�We just didn�t have hits when we had runners in scoring position,� he said. �Timely hits are what we were lacking. But we played good defense, for the most part. Our relievers came in and did well. We just started off the game a little rough. I think we came out just flat. We didn�t have batting practice today. We�re on the road. It�s been a long week.�
And that week continues Sunday and Monday as the teams wrap up the six-game series not at Alamogordo, as originally scheduled, but at Fort Marcy Park. Sunday�s game time is 4 p.m.
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