Familiar Foes To Meet in Quarters

Since neither of Rio Rancho High School’s state baseball championships occurred with the Rams being a No. 1 seed, coach Ron Murphy seems almost giddy.

“The last thing we want,” Murphy said, “is to be the 1 seed. So we’re excited to play the 1 seed.”

In this year’s Class 5A state tournament, the No. 1 seed is Sandia.

The eighth-seeded Rams (19-10) — who won titles as a No. 4 seed in 2007 and from the No. 2 position in 2009 — take on the Matadors (21-5) at 4 p.m. today at Isotopes Park in the third of four quarterfinals.

“They’ve got a great team, and they’ve been at the top all year,” Murphy said of Sandia, a team the Rams beat 2-1 on March 31. “They have a couple of great pitchers over there (Taylor Duree and Marvin Ortiz), but we feel like we have a pretty great staff. We expect another low-scoring game. We’re excited to play them again.”

The Rams outlasted Rio Grande in three games in a first-round series.

Sandia swept No. 16 Cibola, but the Cougars were problematic for the Matadors throughout.

“I like coach Murphy. It’s like playing (Eldorado coach Jim) Johns,” Sandia coach John Gunther said. “They know the game; they play the game very well. It’s not like we have a grudge.”

Brandon Garcia outdueled Ortiz in the March 31 game, as Garcia tossed a two-hitter.

The winner takes on Volcano Vista or Hobbs in Friday’s semifinals at Isotopes Park.

Cleveland-Carlsbad

The sixth-seeded Storm (19-9) and third-seeded Cavemen (21-5) are no strangers. Carlsbad won two games in the regular season, 4-2 and 2-0.

“We’ve had two great games with them. Unfortunately, we’ve lost both,” Cleveland coach Shane Shallenberger said. “We played well both games. It’s exciting when you can play somebody like them, and I’m excited to play them. This is why you play.”

The Storm’s lineup didn’t have much success against either of Carlsbad’s top two pitchers: righty Jered Meek and southpaw Caleb Prentiss. Meek beat Cleveland at the Artesia tournament, and Prentiss shut down the Storm at the Rio Rancho tournament.

Prentiss gave up three hits in that 2-0 win, but Carlsbad managed just two hits off Natty Lucero of the Storm.

The winner plays La Cueva or Eldorado in Friday’s semifinals at Isotopes Park.