Multiple 1-run victories highlight a prep baseball Tuesday

A flurry of close prep baseball finishes highlighted an exciting Tuesday around the metro area.

Rio Rancho, Volcano Vista, East Mountain, Sandia Prep and Los Lunas all had 1-run district victories, including walkoff victories for the Hawks, Sundevils and Tigers, and a final at-bat victory for the Timberwolves.

At East Mountain, the Timberwolves stretched their winning streak to 10 games and came from two runs down late to beat NMMI 3-2 on Tuesday afternoon.

East Mountain (12-5, 3-0 in District 4 / 5-3A), ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, scored all its runs in the bottom of the sixth to come from behind to beat the third-ranked Colts (9-6, 3-1).

“It was huge,” East Mountain coach Ryan Santillanes said. “It puts us in the driver’s seat to win our district and now potentially get the No. 1 seed in 3A.”

Quinlan Gwyther’s one-out, RBI single up the middle scored the go-ahead run in the sixth for East Mountain. Moments earlier, senior Rylen Radosevich — who last year beat NMMI in a game with a walkoff grand slam, rifled a two-RBI double down the left-field line with nobody out, scoring runners from second and third.

Gwyther plated Radosevich to win the game two batters later.

Cole Darnell finished with 14 strikeouts for East Mountain.

At Volcano Vista, visiting Farmington scored twice in the top of the seventh to tie the game, but the Hawks (12-7, 2-1) walked it off in the bottom of the seventh for a key 4-3 victory in District 1-5A over the Scorpions (13-6, 0-3).

Freshman outfielder Aiden Gonzales scored the game-winning run for Volcano Vista, on a two-out, RBI single to left. Alijah Romero scored without a play at the plate to win it for the Hawks.

“We’ve been playing a lot of these games throughout the year, so our kids just believe they’re gonna win it,” Volcano Vista coach Scott Brandt said.

Volcano Vista next has a road game at Cleveland (13-6, 2-1) on Friday afternoon. The Storm on Tuesday lost 4-1 at Piedra Vista.

At Rio Rancho, the fourth-ranked Rams held off No. 7 Cibola for a 3-2 win in another District 1-5A matchup, a win that keeps Rio Rancho (15-4, 3-0) at the top of the 1-5A standings.

The Rams won with just two hits. They scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings and held off a comeback attempt by Cibola (13-6, 1-2) in the top of the seventh.

Rio Rancho’s early 1-0 lead was matched by a home run by Cibola’s Ryan Hutchinson in the top of the fourth.

Pinch-hitter Brayden Bustillos’ RBI single broke the 1-1 tie in the bottom half, and Wyatt Tinker’s excellent baserunning led to a third run in the sixth for Rio Rancho.

Jacob Lucero recorded a two-pitch save for Rio Rancho, with Cibola having the potential tying run at first base in the seventh.

Also from East Mountain’s district Tuesday, Sandia Prep, with five runs in the bottom of the seventh, stunned visiting Ruidoso 10-9 to maintain third place .

Los Lunas scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Tigers (11-7, 3-0) earned a crucial 4-3 win over visiting Rio Grande (8-9, 1-1).