1A-4A baseball roundup: Academy, Menaul/Oak Grove advance, defending champ St. Pius ousted

No. 5 Artesia eliminated two-time defending state champ St. Pius with a 4-0 victory over the No. 4 Sartans at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex, setting up a meeting with No. 1 Goddard, which ousted No. 8 Bloomfield 9-4 in another quarterfinal. Goddard and Artesia will play Friday at 1 p.m. at the same venue.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 Albuquerque Academy, which won the 2021 blue trophy, upset third-seeded Belen 4-1. They’ll face No. 2 Grants at 7 p.m. Friday at the Riordan Complex after the Pirates rallied past 10th-seeded Bernalillo 4-2.

NO. 6 ACADEMY 4, NO. 3 BELEN 1: Once Matthew Delaney got some momentum, there wasn’t much the Eagles could do to slow him down.

The Chargers (18-10) star hurler shook off a slow start and got stronger as the game progressed, pitching six strong innings to lead his team to an upset of the Eagles. It didn’t hurt that Belen provided their opponent with a little extra fuel.

“First few innings I was finding the zone. Umpire was fair. He was tight, though. But after that I kind of sailed with it,” Delaney said. “They gave us fire. They were saying some things, and I think we retaliated really well. Just kept control up there.”

The Chargers and the Eagles each scored a run in the first inning, but that turned out to be all that Belen would muster. After surrendering three hits in the first two frames, Delaney allowed just one over his next four. Meanwhile, Academy got RBIs from Luke Laskey, Satish Raichur and Makoa Mukai to gradually increase its lead.

“We battled pretty tough. Got some big hits, made all the plays and were really good on the mound,” Chargers coach Chris Alexander said. “When that happens, you usually win.”

After losing to Belen 7-2 count in their lone regular season meeting, the Chargers embraced the role of underdogs on Thursday.

“We’re right where we wanted to be,” Alexander said. “We’ve had high seeds and low seeds. I’ll take the low seeds over the high seeds every time.”

Academy did endure a scary moment when Delaney was hit on his throwing elbow by a pitch during his final plate appearance in the top half of the seventh inning. As a result, Raichur got the final three outs. While the extent of the injury is unknown, Delaney was feeling optimistic in the immediate aftermath.

“I think with a little bit of ice it should be fine,” Delaney said. “Hopefully it isn’t injured, but I’ll try to place some first (base) on (Friday).”

NO. 2 GRANTS 4, NO. 10 BERNALILLO 2: It would have been easy for the Pirates (23-6) to get down after spotting the underdog Spartans (16-9) a 2-0 lead through four innings.

Instead, Grants did what it’s done all year: It buckled down and fought back, stringing together four hits during a four-run fifth to rally past Bernalillo.

“Staying locked in and keeping the game close. It’s kind of our mindset,” said Grants coach Mike Furbee. “It’s been that way all year. We had four walk-offs this year. Just keep it within four or five.”

Bernalillo built a 2-0 lead on what was a disastrous fourth inning for the Pirates. With runners on second and third with two out, Grants pitcher Niko Young attempted to pick off the man on third. He likely would have been successful, but his errant throw went to the outfield, allowing both Spartans to score on the play.

The momentum shifted in the bottom of the fifth, which featured four singles and a walk for the Pirates. The rally was highlighted by a redemptive two-RBI hit for Young, which gave his team a 3-2 advantage.

“Niko is one of the hardest guys on himself when things don’t go right,” Furbee said. “It was good for him to get that.”

Outside of the throwing error, it was a solid start for Young on the mound, as he didn’t allow any earned runs through six innings before exiting before the final frame due to cramps. Estevan Barela struck out the side to seal the victory for Grants.

“We knew they were gonna be quality,” Furbee said of Bernalillo. “We didn’t look at the seeding. We kind of took that out of the scenario.”

NO. 5 ARTESIA 4, NO. 4 ST. PIUS 0: The Bulldogs (16-13) got a shutdown effort from Jack Byers and found enough offense of their own in the final two innings to eliminate Sartans (17-9).

It was a significant statement for Artesia, which began the season with a 6-11 mark before winning nine of its final 11 games down the stretch.

“It’s huge. We play them every year. Really, really proud of our guys. Just executed the plan and we knew it was gonna be a dogfight,” said Bulldogs coach J.J. Ortiz.

“We played the toughest schedule in the state for this. Even though we lost some of those games early, and people were doubting us, there’s a reason we played all the top 5A schools in the state for this moment.”

Byers, a sophomore, limited St. Pius to just two hits over seven innings while striking out seven. He retired the side in order in five of the frames and was only truly threatened in the fourth, when the Sartans' Jax Mulville led off with a double. Byers retired the next three batters, however, and Mulville was left stranded on third.

“Fastball was working well. I heard I hit 90 (miles per hour),” Byers said. “I was pumped about that.”

St. Pius starter Ruben Jepsen matched Byers through five innings before Artesia was able to break through in the top of the sixth. An RBI single from Jet Fuentes provided what turned out to be the decisive run, and things unraveled somewhat for the Sartans in the top of the seventh. With two on and two out, Diego Morales hit a soft single over the infield. Both baserunners scored when the ball was misplayed in the outfield, and then Morales came home on a single from Jesse Armendariz. With a 4-0 lead, Byers had plenty of breathing room to close out the game.

“It was a relief for sure,” Byers said. “Not having to worry about if something bad happens, you know you have some insurance for it.”

NO. 1 GODDARD 9, NO. 8 BLOOMFIELD 4: The Rockets (23-6) plated seven runs in the first two innings and cruised to a victory over the Bobcats (19-6).

Bloomfield got to within 4-2 in the top of the second, but Goddard got hits from Isaiah Herrera and Ryan Alsup en route to scoring three more in the bottom of the frame to essentially put the game out of reach.

Class 3A

It was a mostly northern New Mexico kind of day Thursday in the quarterfinals. More than that, it was a day for the underdogs. All four of the higher seeds fell.

No. 8 West Las Vegas scored the first 18 runs on No. 1 Cobre, including 14 in the first two innings, and routed the Indians 20-6.

No. 5 Santa Fe Indian edged No. 4 New Mexico Military Institute 8-6. No. 6 Ruidoso got a fantastic pitching performance from Logan Sandoval. He surrendered a one-out hit in the first inning, then retired the next 20 Horsemen in a row in a 3-0 victory for the Warriors.

No. 7 Robertson and No. 2 East Mountain were involved in the craziest game of the day. The Cardinals led early 4-2, then trailed 6-4, then scored runs in the top of the sixth for an 8-6 lead but had to hold off the Timberwolves in an 8-7 victory.

West Las Vegas plays SFIS at 10 a.m. Friday at the Riordan complex, with Robertson taking on Ruidoso at 4 p.m. West, SFIS and Robertson are district partners.

Class 2A

Fourth-seeded Menual/Oak Grove broke open a tie game with a six-run third inning in a mercy-rule shortened triumph over No. 5 McCurdy (18-9-1).

The Owls' Noah Rush ended the contest in emphatic fashion with a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning. Talon Lucero, Grayson Grebe and James Schroeder also drove two runs apiece for Menaul/Oak Grove (20-5).

Menaul/Oak Grove meets 2A No. 1 seed Santa Rosa at 4 p.m. Friday at the Riordan complex. The Lions ousted Texico 6-3 on Thursday night.

No. 6 Eunice and No. 7 Rehoboth Christian are in the other 2A semi, at 10 a.m., after upset victories on Thursday.

Class 1A

No. 1 Logan and No. 3 Melrose won semifinals Thursday and will meet for the 1A championship at noon Friday at Santa Ana Star Field.

Logan posted the comeback of the entire tournament, scoring six times in the bottom of the seventh inning to stun No. 5 Grady 12-11. Grady at one point led 11-3.

Melrose routed No. 2 Gateway Christian 15-4.

Photos: State baseball tournament action on Thursday