A day later, Volcano Vista ran out of comebacks.
No. 1 seed La Cueva scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning Wednesday afternoon, and the Bears came from behind to beat the third-seeded Hawks 13-10 in the twice-delayed final of the Albuquerque Metro Softball Championships.
“It was definitely tough,” said La Cueva outfielder Addisen Byers, “but we ultimately we got the job done.”
The title game was originally scheduled for March 18. Poor weather pushed it back to March 20. Rain stopped it in the bottom of the fifth on that day with the Hawks (11-7) leading 8-5.
That is where the teams picked it up Wednesday at La Cueva, and the Bears scored a quick run to cut the deficit to 8-6.
Volcano Vista freshman pitcher Audrianna Jim belted a home run in the top of the sixth for a 9-6 lead.
But the Bears (12-2) finally got to Jim – who threw more than 150 pitches for the Hawks in a 20-17, 3-hour, nine-inning marathon win over Cibola on Tuesday – in their half of the sixth.
“We knew it would be hard on her,” La Cueva coach Ron Romero said. “I think you might have seen the results of her being tired.”
La Cueva got the first two batters on. Nadya Moreno was hit by a pitch, and Mel Macias reached on an infield errors. Bears junior catcher Ciena Perez stepped in and tied the game 9-9 with a towering three-run home run to center.
“It was hard to get the energy going, but once we got the first runner on, it was just easy going from there,” Perez said.
Byers added a two-run shot near the end of the inning – also to straightaway center – for a 13-9 lead.
Between those two homers, Kyra Zamora broke a 9-9 tie with a sharp two-RBI double to left-center with runners on second and third. Byers was the next batter after Zamora and quickly added two insurance runs.
The Hawks at one point led the metro final 8-3. On Tuesday, Volcano Vista overcame both a four-run deficit and a five-run deficit to outlast Cibola.
Both Volcano Vista and La Cueva have been especially busy of late. There was the metro tournament, then both competed in the Kristin Griego tournament in Rio Rancho, playing five games over three days.
La Cueva fell 5-4 to eventual tournament champ Carlsbad in the Griego semifinals.
“It was a grind for both of us,” Romero said. His Bears have played nine games since March 15. Wednesday was Volcano Vista’s 10th game since that same date. “That’s a lot of games for two weeks.”
The metro baseball final will finish on Thursday, 4 p.m. at Rio Rancho. The top-seeded Rams lead No. 2 La Cueva 12-5 in the top of the fifth, although the Bears have the bases loaded with one out when the game resumes.
