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Alex Gallegos smashed a single to left in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring the go-ahead — and, ultimately, winning — run for No. 2 seed Rio Rancho in a 5-3 victory over seventh-seeded Centennial in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state baseball tournament Thursday morning at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex.
In a 3-3 game, Logan Sunstrom opened the inning by being hit by a pitch.
The Rams sacrificed him to second base, and Gallegos, the eight-hole hitter, pulled a hard-hit ball past the Hawks third baseman and into left, scoring the go-ahead run.
“Just trying to be aggressive, be on time, not be late, pass the torch to the next person,” Gallegos said. He drove in two runs in the victory for Rio Rancho (23-6).
Moments later, Wyatt Tinker supplied some insurance, doubling down the left-field line, and scoring another run for a 5-3 edge.
Brandon Segal pitched five solid innings for the Rams, improving to 9-0 this season and 18-1 in his varsity career. Sunstrom, a hard-throwing southpaw, earned the save with two scoreless innings.
“Big change,” Rams coach David Gomez said, “going from (Segal at) 76-77 to 86 from the left. It’s a big jump for the other team to have.”
Sunstrom assumed the closer’s role in the final third of the season, Gomez said, after opening the season in the starting rotation.
Segal made really only one mistake pitch, a ball that was clubbed to center for a three-run home run by Centennial (22-7) catcher Cole Alons that tied the game 3-3. And Alons was only at the plate because Rio Rancho sophomore third baseman Matt Cook, with two outs, misplayed a pop fly that extended the inning.
Rio Rancho plays No. 6 Sandia in Friday’s semifinals at the Riordan complex.
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“We still have a lot to prove,” Gallegos said. “And it’s not over yet.”
The Rams have been under the radar, even as a 2 seed.
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Gomez said. “That’s where we want to be.”
