PREP BASEBALL

Puentes final offers a doozy as Cleveland, La Cueva face off

Championship game is 3 p.m. Saturday

Cleveland's Marcus Abeyta, left, and Anthony Del Angel, right, celebrate during the Sal Puentes baseball tournament at Rio Rancho High School on Friday.

Jessica Baca/Journal

James Yodice James Yodice James Yodice Journal Staff Writer

Published March 27, 2026 - 8:48 p.m. Modified March 27, 2026 - 8:48 p.m.

RIO RANCHO – Cleveland early and La Cueva late won semifinal games Friday at the Sal Puentes Tournament at Rio Rancho, putting the Class 5A powers on a much-anticipated collision course in the final.

The unbeaten Storm and Bears will play at 3 p.m. Saturday for the Puentes title.

LA CUEVA 10, CARLSBAD 4: The Bears (11-2) did the majority of their offensive damage during a marathon top of the fourth inning, when they sent a dozen batters to the dish and scored six runs.

The game until then was going along rather quietly at 1-1 — the teams traded runs in the first inning — until La Cueva’s bats began to warm up on what proved to be a chilly evening.

Everett Burdett, Mike McMullen and Dylan Blomker singled on three consecutive pitches to begin this lengthy rally. Blomker’s single to right-center scored the go-ahead run.

La Cueva sort of bled Carlsbad (8-7) slowly as the inning went along.

A botched pop fly on the infield by the Cavemen led to another run for La Cueva, and a 3-1 edge. A Brady McConkey single to center scored a run. A wild pitch scored a run. Christian Cantwell doubled to right-center, bringing home another run, and it was 6-1 for the Bears.

Damon Saavedra’s RBI single with two outs moments later scored the sixth run of the inning.

This proved to be plenty for Burdett (4-0), the La Cueva starter and Oregon State signee. He gave up one unearned run, which was his doing on an errant pickoff throw, but no hits in his five innings of work. He struck out 13 batters, including the first seven Cavemen he faced.

The game was 10-1 going to the bottom of the seventh.

La Cueva High Schools Nate Nguyen, left, slides safely into third base during the Sal Puentes baseball tournament semifinal game against Carlsbad at Rio Rancho High School on Friday.

CLEVELAND 6, RIO RANCHO 3: If you were compiling a list of New Mexico hitters opposing teams would probably least want to see in the box with runners on base, Cleveland’s Anthony Del Angel probably tops that list.

And the imposing Del Angel delivered again Friday. His 10th home run of the season was a crucial three-run shot to left during a five-run fifth inning that broke the game wide open for the Storm (15-0) as they beat their rivals for the second time in six days.

Meanwhile, Cleveland pitching, which entered Friday having thrown 19 consecutive shutout innings, including two no-hitters, blanked the Rams (12-3) for the first four innings Friday.

“The wind was blowing in pretty dang good. It was a really tough day to hit. So honestly, we just tried to attack the zone,” Cleveland coach Shane Shallenberger said.

The two arms who had thrown all 19 of those innings combined to score the first run for the Storm. Treven Polanco’s sacrifice fly to left in the top of the fourth scored Jacob Vasquez.

In the fifth, the bottom of the Cleveland order set the table for Del Angel. Noah Segura doubled to center and advanced to third on Peyton Noel’s infield single.

Del Angel, who bats leadoff, swatted a fastball over the left-field wall — mostly into the wind — for a 4-0 lead.

“I was trying to help my team out in that situation, and I was able to do so,” the University of Oklahoma signee said. “Our team is full of dawgs, and the bottom of our lineup is doing great right now. Everyone is competing up there, and everyone is being a hard out. You love to see it.”

Francisco Hernandez drove in a run with a single, and Polanco added another RBI on a ground ball for a 6-0 lead.

The Rams finally scored in the bottom of the fifth, with runs on a sac fly and passed ball, and got within three runs in the sixth, but no closer. Rio Rancho finished with just two hits.

Alex Larvie pitched five solid innings for the Storm, surrendering two earned runs.

Cleveland has only given up more than three runs twice in its 15 games.

“I know what they can do,” Shallenberger said of his pitching staff, “and they’re very critical of themselves. I definitely think they’re meeting and possibly exceeding (expectations) because of what they’ve done, but it doesn’t surprise me they’re doing a good job, either.”