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State baseball/softball tournaments: Comebacks galore, plus a major upset
Cibola's Gaby Moncada (9) takes a swing at the ball during a game Friday against Albuquerque High School in a state tournament game at Cibola High School. Cibola are into the winners half of the 5A bracket after wins Friday and Saturday.
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Cleveland was down a game. Came back.
Sandia was down a game. Came back.
Hope Christian was down a game. Came back.
Carlsbad was down a game. Did not come back.
While teams like the Storm, Matadors and Huskies battled from behind after dropping the first game of their first-round baseball playoff series, Class 5A’s third-seeded Cavemen was not so lucky on Saturday.
The 14 seed, Cibola, the fifth-place team from District 1, won the opener Friday, dropped Game 2 early Saturday, but rallied to oust Carlsbad with a thrilling 9-8 victory at Cavemen Park in Game 3 in the afternoon.
Cibola, in its biggest victory in many years, scored four runs in the top of the seventh to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 9-7 lead.
“I feel like we’ve already been through a state tournament (coming out of District 1),” Cougars coach Robert Puentes said. “I don’t know, we’re just coming together as a team and as a program right now. It’s a different Cibola.”
Zach Wood hit a two-run home run to tie the game at 7-all for Cibola in the seventh. Elijah Vigil added a pinch-hit RBI single, and Ryan Hutchinson added an RBI double moments later for the all-important ninth run.
No. 4 Cleveland and No. 6 Sandia, meanwhile, had plenty of work to do Saturday. The Storm won 3-1 and 7-3 to advance past Mayfield.
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In the first game Saturday, junior lefty Xavier Vasquez pitched a complete-game two-hitter, and Josiah Armijo had three hits and an RBI.
In the deciding third game, Peyton Noel supplied more outstanding starting pitching as he surrendered just three hits and one run over six innings. Gunner Carey hit a home run for Cleveland, and Gabe Nelson drove in a pair of runs.
Sandia beat Piedra Vista 9-2 and 11-5 on Saturday.
Colton Floyd belted a grand slam to left for the Matadors in the fourth inning of the first game Saturday. Jeremiah Bustillos had four hits, and Levi Brooks went the distance on the mound.
In Game 3, the Panthers had a 3-1 lead in the fourth when Sandia scored four times to take the lead. That included a bases-clearing, three-RBI double by Aiden Mobley. Adriel Figueroa-Brito also knocked in three runs for Sandia.
No. 1 La Cueva, No. 2 Rio Rancho and No. 5 Eldorado all won in sweeps in the first round. Thursday’s quarterfinals are Cibola-Sandia, La Cueva-Los Lunas, Cleveland-Eldorado and Rio Rancho-Centennial.
The top-seeded Bears closed out Las Cruces, 7-3 in Game 2. Everett Burdett hit a home run, and Dylan Blomker pitched six, three-hit innings with nine strikeouts.
At Rio Rancho, the Rams closed out Farmington with a 9-2 victory. Adan Bustos pitched four solid innings, and Chase Rivera led the offense with a 4-for-4 game. Noah Serna drove in three runs for the second straight game.
At Eldorado, the Eagles, who only scored one run on one hit Friday, ousted Organ Mountain with a 5-1 win. Tim Kamphuis drove in a pair of runs for Eldorado, and John Wofford delivered a two-RBI pinch hit in the sixth. Jace Sanchez-Reynolds tossed six innings to earn the win.
Centennial, the 7 seed, will be the only non-metro team in the 5A quarterfinals after finishing off Rio Grande on Saturday.
In Class 4A, there was more volatility. No. 4 Belen was taken out of the tournament on Saturday, as was No. 5 Los Alamos and No. 8 Valley.
No. 13 Chaparral scored seven runs in the final three innings of Game 3, and held off an Eagles rally in the seventh for a 12-11 victory. The Lobos will face No. 12 Goddard in the quarterfinals after the Rockets eliminated Los Alamos on Saturday.
No. 1 Artesia won both games against Bernalillo, No. 2 St. Pius did the same with Kirtland Central.
The Sartans defeated Kirtland Central 8-1 on Saturday. Jacob Madrid had a two-run single for the first runs of the game, and Joaquin Aragon also drove in a pair of runs. Ashton Warren went five strong innings on the bump for St. Pius.
No. 9 Hope Christian beat Valley twice Saturday, 5-3 and 6-5, to move the Huskies into the quarterfinals opposite Artesia.
Luciano Gabaldon drove in two runs in the first game Saturday for the Huskies. In Game 3, Hope had to overcome a four-run deficit, and in fact scored twice in the top of the seventh to finally take the lead as Trey Baillio’s two-run single was Hope’s most clutch hit of the season. Baillio also hit a home run in Game 3.
No. 7 seed Grants, the defending 4A state champion, needed three games to send Santa Teresa home.
In 3A’s first round, Sandia Prep was another 9 seed that advanced. The Sundevils battered Cobre 21-0 on Saturday. Jonas Mahboub went 3-for-4 with five RBIs for Sandia Prep.
SOFTBALL: No. 2 La Cueva and No. 3 Cibola both are into the top (winners) half of the 5A bracket after victories on Saturday as the championship round began.
Cibola defeated No. 6 Alamogordo 5-1, while La Cueva was a 7-1 winner over No. 10 Las Cruces. No. 1 and undefeated Centennial and No. 5 Mayfield also are in the top championship half of the draw. Cibola and La Cueva meet in the semifinals.
At Cibola, the Cougars got RBIs from Gaby Moncada and Athena Joyce, and Moncada for the second straight game in the circle registered 10 strikeouts.
At La Cueva, Genesis Jarmaillo had three hits, three RBIs and hit a homer for the Bears. Lili Montoya drove in three and she also homered.
The consolation portion of the bracket has four teams with a single loss: Atrisco Heritage, Las Cruces, Alamogordo and Las Cruces.
No. 9 seed St. Pius and No. 10 Belen are still alive in the 4A playoffs.
