Storm, Bears lift trophies in Rio Rancho tournaments

The Cleveland baseball teams lifts its trophy after winning the Sal Puentes Invitational championship game against Carlsbad on Saturday at Rio Rancho High School.

Jessica Baca/Journal

Taylor Hood Taylor Hood Taylor Hood Journal Staff Writer

Published March 29, 2025 - 9:04 p.m. Modified March 30, 2025 - 8:15 p.m.

Several teams entered Rio Rancho on Thursday looking to hoist championship trophies. After three days of competition, the Cleveland baseball team and La Cueva softball squad accomplished that goal.

SAL PUENTES INVITATIONAL (BASEBALL): Cleveland was the last one standing at Rio Rancho High School.

The Storm defeated Carlsbad 7-4 on Saturday evening to lift the tournament trophy.

Cleveland found itself in the championship game after rolling through Artesia 7-1 on Thursday night and upsetting the state’s top 5A squad in La Cueva, 4-3 on Friday. The tough schedule proved beneficial for the Storm who handled the Cavemen easily and improved their season record to 11-5.

For Carlsbad, it was not the outcome they’d hoped for after a red hot tournament with back-to-back blowout victories (11-0 vs. St. Pius on March 27 and 10-1 vs. Goddard on March 28.)

In the third-place game, it was a tale of two very different teams. Top-ranked La Cueva found itself in the consolation game after a semifinal upset loss to Cleveland, 4-3. Goddard found its way to the third place game after a 7-3 upset victory over host Rio Rancho on Thursday night. It didn’t seem to matter however, as the Bears easily defeated the Rockets 9-2. The Rockets had a late rally at the end of the seventh inning, but ultimately fell flat.

Other games included a 10-3 St. Pius victory over longtime rivals Albuquerque Academy. And host school RRHS got back on solid ground with a 4-3 win over Artesia.

KRISTIN GRIEGO TOURNAMENT (SOFTBALL): La Cueva took down Alamogordo 6-2 in the title game at Eagle Ridge Middle School.

In the semifinals Saturday morning, La Cueva shutout Hobbs 10-0 and Alamogordo squeaked past Carlsbad 9-7. The offensive battle took its toll on Alamogordo, however, and a relatively fresh Bears team was able to pull out an easy win in the final round and lift the tournament trophy.

Elsewhere a walk-off home run gave Hobbs an 11-10 victory over Carlsbad for the third-place trophy.

Cleveland took down Sandia 12-0 in the seventh-place game.

La Cueva improves its season record to 11-3 and takes on Manzano on Wednesday at home.