Prep baseball/softball: Rio Rancho tournaments enter final rounds

In the second day of the Rio Rancho baseball and softball tournaments on Friday, La Cueva softball proved why the program is ranked first in the state, while the top-ranked Bears baseball team was upset in the semifinals.

SAL PUENTES INVITATIONAL (BASEBALL): Carlsbad punched its ticket to the championship game with a decisive 10-1 win over Goddard.

The Cavemen, ranked No. 7 in the state, will play fifth-ranked Cleveland for the title.

The Storm got a stellar effort on the mound from pitchers Jarren Villa, Gabriel Nelson and Treven Polanco in taking down La Cueva in the other semifinal.

In the consolation bracket, second-ranked Rio Rancho shut out St. Pius 8-0. The score of the Albuquerque Academy versus Artesia game had not been reported as of print time.

The championship between Cleveland and Carlsbad begins at 3 p.m. at Rio Rancho High School. The third-place game between Goddard and La Cueva starts at 1 p.m.

KRISTIN GRIEGO TOURNAMENT (SOFTBALL): Twenty games took place Friday as the tournament ween through two rounds of play.

In Round three, Aztec took down host Rio Rancho 13-12. The round included plenty of blowouts as well, with Kirtland Central beating Atrisco Heritage 11-1, Hobbs creaming Cibola 16-0 and top-ranked La Cueva taking down Robertson 15-0.

The Bears didn’t ease up in round four, defeating Cleveland 13-1 to book their ticket to the semifinal round Saturday. Carlsbad, Alamogordo and Hobbs all punched their tickets as well.

The final rounds kick off at 8 a.m. with Carlsbad vs. Alamogordo. Then, Hobbs goes against La Cueva at 10 a.m. Consolation games will be taking place throughout the day, with the tournament championship set for 4 p.m. All games are at Eagle Ridge Middle School.