Seemingly unaffected by brutal weather conditions at Bullhead Park, the Cougars put together a near-flawless performance in the championship game and routed rival Volcano Vista 12-0 in a five-inning, mercy-rule contest.

Cibola pitcher Nicole Shack shut down the Hawks on five hits, getting several impressive defensive plays from her teammates. Shack said the Cougars were motivated by the memory of losing to Volcano Vista in last season’s Metro Tournament final.

“We remembered that very well,” Shack said, “and we definitely wanted to get the metro championship back.”

Saturday’s final rounds of the tournament were frequently delayed by overpowering wind gusts and dust clouds that greatly reduced visibility. But when the afternoon title game began, the second-seeded Cougars (8-2) wasted no time taking command.

Arianna Maldonado, the game’s second batter, smacked an inside-the park home run to ignite a six-run Cibola rally. Hannah Clark later added a three-run double and came home on Victoria Harrison’s single.

The Cougars added four more runs in the second to make it 10-0. A double by Shack, Alyssa Brown’s two-run single and RBI hits by Brittany Baca and Maldonado highlighted the inning.

The early runs were more than enough support for Shack, who walked just one batter in the nasty conditions. Three Hawks pitchers combined to walk four, hit a batter and surrender 16 hits.

“It was tough playing in these conditions,” Shack said, “but the wind doesn’t really affect pitching. You just have to be stronger than the wind.”

Top-seeded Volcano Vista (6-3) loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but a force play at the plate and an infield pop ended the threat. Third baseman Jaclyn Pino and catcher Victoria Harrison turned in stellar defensive plays to help Shack complete the shutout.

Cougars coach Gene Victor said he advised players to simply focus on the game.

“It’s lousy weather, but it’s the same for both teams,” Victor said. “It’s not like (the Hawks) got to play in a dome and we didn’t. You just have to fight through it, and the kids did a good job today.”

Harrison finished 4-for-4 to lead the Cougars, who got three hits apiece from Baca and Jasmine Mitchell.

Celina Sullivan had two of Volcano Vista’s five singles.

Earlier Saturday, Cibola advanced to the final by coming from behind to defeat La Cueva in the semifinals, while Volcano Vista topped Rio Rancho.

The Bears and Rams opted not to play the third-place game, which was declared a double-forfeit.

— This article appeared on page D7 of the Albuquerque Journal