Tough to Swallow

It wasn’t a walk-off loss, but it was a last-inning loss, and the Volcano Vista Hawks surely must be tiring of these close calls at the state baseball tournament.

No. 1 Sandia on Friday night scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning, stunning the Hawks 7-5 in the Class 5A semifinals at Isotopes Park.

“Just a tough loss right there,” Volcano Vista catcher Jacob Garcia said. “We left it all out on the field. It’s a tough loss for our seniors, but next year we’re gonna come back strong.”

The Hawks (20-8) took a 5-4 lead to the final inning and had one of their most reliable pitchers, Brian Fox, trying to save it.

But Sandia opened the seventh with four consecutive hits and strung together three runs. And the Matadors quickly shut the door on Volcano Vista in the bottom of the seventh.

“You know,” said Hawks second baseman Andre Vigil, “we put up a good fight. We’re sad. It’s baseball. There are ups and downs.”

Just as they were a year ago, when La Cueva scored a run in the final inning to beat the Hawks 11-10 in the 5A championship game.

“I didn’t think there were a lot of high expectations to be where we were (this season),” Hawks coach Kevin Andersh said. “But we were three outs from a championship game.”

In a sense, with a lineup as young as Volcano Vista’s — only one senior position player in shortstop Dalton Bowers — reaching the final four this year was something of a surprise.

“No doubt, losing Dalton is a big hole,” Garcia said. “But we have a lot of experience coming up.”

Volcano Vista will return most of its pitching except for senior Tyler Adams, who started Friday’s game. The Hawks should open 2013 as one of the 5A favorites.

“We’re gonna be practicing our butts off,” Vigil said. “Me and Brock (Sullivan, Volcano’s third baseman), we’re gonna lead this team. We’re gonna take this team to a championship next year.”

To that end, Vigil will not be playing football for the Hawks in the fall so he can concentrate on baseball. The future University of New Mexico Lobo was Volcano Vista’s best pitcher and best offensive player.

Replacing Bowers, who batted leadoff, will be a priority.

Josh Day had a two-run double and RBI single Friday for the Hawks. Garcia went 3-for-3 with an RBI. Vigil went 1-2 with a double.

ST. PIUS: The Sartans, the No. 3 seed in Class 4A, were upset 5-3 on Thursday in the quarterfinals by Valencia.
— This article appeared on page 12 of the Albuquerque Journal