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Rio Rancho tourneys see upsets and blowouts
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RIO RANCHO — A pair of big tournaments kicked off Thursday in Rio Rancho and included both blowouts and nail-biters. The softball and baseball tournaments last through Saturday.
SAL PUENTES INVITATIONAL (BASEBALL): At Rio Rancho High School, the top-ranked La Cueva Bears got the party started, defeating Albuquerque Academy 17-4.
Things didn’t go much better for the Academy rivals, the St. Pius Sartans, who got hammered by the fifth-ranked Carlsbad Cavemen in a short, 11-0 match. The Sartans managed only two hits against the Cavemen pitching rotation.
Next, the Goddard Rockets pulled off the upset of the day, taking a 7-3 win over the second-ranked Rio Rancho Rams. Rockets pitching duo Jadon Herrera and Carmelo Ortega combined for three strikeouts and one walk on three earned runs.
The final game of the day was a 7-1 win for the Cleveland Storm over the Artesia Bulldogs.
Carlsbad takes on Goddard and La Cueva will be matched with Cleveland in the semifinals. The championship match will take place Saturday at 3 p.m.
Winner’s bracket - Friday
Carlsbad vs Goddard, 3 p.m.
La Cueva vs Cleveland, 5:30 p.m.
Consolation bracket - Friday
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St. Pius vs. Rio Rancho, 10 a.m.
Albuquerque Academy vs Artesia, 12:30 p.m.
KRISTIN GRIEGO TOURNAMENT (SOFTBALL): In Rio Rancho, the host Rams defeated Robertson 19-3 to start the day. The La Cueva JV squad followed with a 3-0 victory over Cleveland JV. Then, Los Lunas beat Bernalillo 8-2.
In possibly the game of the day, Sandia defeated Kirtland Central in a high-scoring 14-12 affair.
Alamogordo easily shot past Hobbs 8-3 and Carlsbad edged Atrisco Heritage in a 4-3 pitcher’s duel.
Aztec traveled down from the Four Corners to hand West Mesa an 8-2 defeat.
Farmington beat Tularosa 12-1 in the biggest margin of victory of the day.
Cibola marched past Valencia 11-4 and the day finished with Portales narrowly beating Bloomfield 7-6.
The 20-team tournament resumes Friday at 8 a.m. The championship match will take place Saturday at 4 p.m.
Winner’s bracket - Friday
Rio Rancho vs Aztec, 8 a.m.
Carlsbad vs Los Lunas, 8 a.m.
Atrisco vs Kirtland, 8 a.m.
Hobbs vs Cibola, 8 a.m.
Sandia vs Bernalillo, 10 a.m.
Alamogordo vs Farmington, 10 a.m.
La Cueva vs Robertson, 10 a.m.
Cleveland vs Portales, 10 a.m.
Consolation bracket - Friday
West Mesa vs Tularosa, noon
Valencia vs Bloomfield, noon
