2A: Menaul/Oak Grove wins first ever blue trophy in baseball

On this day, talent trumped tradition by a considerable margin.

Fourth-seeded Menaul/Oak Grove (22-5) captured its first-ever blue trophy in baseball with a 10-0, mercy rule-shortened victory against No. 6 Eunice (12-12) in the Class 2A state championship game on Saturday at Santa Ana Star Field. The game ended in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI single from senior center fielder Jackson Buck.

That the victory came at the expense of the Cardinals, a program with 18 baseball championships to its name, was just an added sweetener. But it wasn’t necessarily a point of emphasis.

“I think baseball is one of those sports where if you just put in the work and you have the right people on your squad, you’re going to be able to do good things,” said Owls coach Jay Rush, whose sons, Isaac and Noah, were integral parts of the championship team. “We weren’t really concerned about what their record was in the past. We just knew we wanted to come out, do the little things right and compete.”

Menaul/Oak Grove struck quickly, scoring four runs on four hits in the first inning, and never looked back. The Owls were aggressive on the basepaths, stealing almost at will against the Cardinals. Isaac Rush set the tone at the top of the lineup for the Owls, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBIs and three stolen bases.

“He’s been our leadoff basically since the beginning of the year,” Jay Rush said. “He’s always had a hot bat. He sees the ball well. He just puts the ball in play constantly. We’re able to take bases with him. He’s just an all-around great athlete.”

While the majority of the team was outfitted in Oak Grove attire, one key component of Saturday’s victory donned a Menaul cap. That was starting pitcher Talen Lucero, who in addition to scattering four hits over five shutout innings went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Consider him the lone wolf — err, Panther — if you will.

“My whole plan was just to deal, let my boys do the work behind me,” Lucero said. “Just put it in the zone, do what I do best, and we came out on top.”

Lucero’s biggest hit, a two-run single on which he came all the way home following a Eunice error in the outfield, occurred after the Cardinals issued their second intentional walk of the game to Owls slugger Noah Rush. That sequence gave Menaul/Oak Grove an 8-0 lead after four innings.

“That’s what we always talk about,” Jay Rush said. “Noah’s gonna be up there, but we need somebody behind him to do damage. That’s exactly what (Lucero) did. Up on the bump he’s been our No. 2 guy all year long. Very easily could have been our No. 1 guy just in innings pitched. But he competes and he’s got great command of his fastball and his curveball.”

This year will mark the end of the co-op between Menaul and Oak Grove, but for Lucero, it’s been a seamless integration with his Owl teammates. The championship celebration might be more muted on the Menaul campus, but he says his accomplishments haven’t gone unrecognized.

“It’s been nice because at school everyone’s like, ‘Oh, this guy, he’s the only one that gets to go play state.’ It’s really cool because I’m like the lone wolf,” he said. “I get to be the guy who stands out because I’m the only one from Menaul that’s out here today. It feels great.

“Hopefully maybe I can take the trophy to school one of these days,” he added. “Show it off before I have to give it back to good old Oak Grove.”

Oak Grove will graduate three seniors — Buck, Noah Rush and Luke Jeter — from the championship squad. With one championship in tow, there’s plenty of reason for optimism for the future.

“It was a full circle moment,” Jeter said. “My sophomore year, they (Eunice) knocked us out of the state tournament. So coming back this year, we knew we had to put it all out there. Just show them what we’re about. We’re staying for a while now.”

Photos: New Mexico high school baseball championship games