Trailing 6-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, EHS rallied during its final at-bats to score three runs. But Dexter (1-3) escaped with a narrow 6-5 victory.

Bears first-year coach Francisco Lujan was pleased with his team's performance in its initial outing.

"Not bad, not bad at all," he said. "Everything was good. Our batting was good. They were stopping the ball. We do need to work a little bit on our bunting. But I think they did well."

Estancia had the Demons on the ropes and couldn't quite pull it off. With base runners aboard first and second and with no outs in the seventh, the Bears' freshman first-baseman, Mikayla Calhoon, got a bunt-like hit that Dexter pitcher Jenna Garcia tracked down, but Calhoon sprinted and beat the throw.

A Dexter error on the catch at first allowed Estancia's Veronica Lujan and Bobbi Otero to score to close the gap to 6-4. Then with one out, Kaili Larson's grounder to second base, though she was out at first, sent Calhoon home for Estancia's final run and earned an RBI for the third baseman.

Calhoon, who is Larson's cousin, had stolen second and then taken third on a passed ball. Calhoon paced the Bears with a 2-for-3 batting performance, including a double and two RBI.

Calhoon said she keeps her father, Army National Guard Capt. Mike Calhoon, updated on how she does in games via his occasional phone calls from Iraq.

"He's on the night shift, so when it's night over there, it's day here," Mikayla said. "So I do get to talk to him."

Estancia had tied the score at 1 in the second inning when Calhoon's double on a fly ball to center field sent Lujan home from second base.

The Bears' second run came on a not-so-well-executed pickle play, but it managed to get Heather Chavez, the EHS varsity's sole senior, to third and then, courtesy of a Dexter error, to home. Chavez got on base with a walk, and she advanced to second on a single from Ashley Lujan.

"Dexter always has a good team," said Chavez, a 5-foot-2 left fielder. "We did better this time (in that the Bears had lost 12-2 to the Demons during last year's road opener). We're more confident now."

Estancia might have used up some of their allotment for luck, however, just in keeping the game close. They were hurt by five errors as compared to the Demons' two. And Dexter's pitcher, Garcia, struck out 11.

The Demons earned eight hits, including five of the extra-base variety, against Estancia junior Desirae Ortiz. Garcia, who was 2-for-3 and scored three runs, smacked a solo home run over the center-field fence in the third inning.

"The first couple of games, my arm gets real sore so I ice it a lot," said Ortiz, exactly a week after playing in the state basketball tournament quarterfinals. "And we've been practicing in the cold."

The Bears secured six hits. Ortiz had four Ks and walked one. Garcia gave up a walk and hit a batsman.

Dexter won the game by virtue of its three-run effort in the top of the seventh.

"Estancia's not bad this year," Demons fifth-year coach Heather Amaro said. "But we haven't jelled yet. We've had a lot of snow, which they're not used to. We've had to practice indoors."

Moriarty

The Pintos' first home game of the season, in which they were to have played Los Alamos on Tuesday, was postponed because the field conditions were not up to par due to the recent snow. The contest was not immediately rescheduled.

"We've only had that one game (a 19-6 win at Cleveland High in Rio Rancho on March 2), and since then, we've only had a couple of practices," Moriarty coach Brett McWilliams said. "It's been rough because of the weather. Just when I feel like we're making some progress and doing pretty well, the weather cancels practice. Now, we're going into the (Albuquerque Public Schools Metro) tournament with only one game under our belt."

East Mountain

The Class 2A Timberwolves dropped their first three games of the season at the Sandia Prep tournament last week. They fell, all by the 10-run rule, to Class 4A Valencia, the 3A host Sundevils and 4A Grants.

Manzano

The Monarchs (2-4) beat Albuquerque Academy 11-2 on Friday.

Manzano lost 7-4 to Cleveland on March 9 and fell to La Cueva 7-0 on Saturday. All three games were played at Manzano.

Estancia at Moriarty JV, today, 3:30 p.m.

Moriarty vs. Eldorado at Bullhead Park in first round of APS Metro Championships: Friday, 11 a.m.

Manzano vs. St. Pius at Bullhead in first round of APS Metro: Friday, 1 p.m.

East Mountain at Jemez Valley, Tuesday, 3 p.m.