May 3—La Cueva baseball and softball, and Rio Rancho baseball, all clinched outright district championships on Saturday as those two sports finished their regular seasons.
At La Cueva, the top-ranked Bears (23-3) swept No. 3 Sandia 16-3 and 10-0 as La Cueva baseball completed an unbeaten 10-0 run through District 2-5A. The Matadors (18-7) finished 6-4 in district, and in third place behind Eldorado.
The sixth-ranked Eagles (19-8, 8-2) dominated visiting Santa Fe on Saturday in a doubleheader, winning 11-1 and 14-0.
La Cueva scored eight runs in the first inning of Game 1. Everett Burdett and Dylan Blomker (also the winning pitcher) both had two-run singles, and Drew Watkins hit a two-run home run. The Bears later added seven more in the fourth.
The Bears scored nine runs in the first inning of Game 2. Blomker, Reid Jacobson, Lucas Baca, Damon Saavedra (with a two-run single) and Braiden Reynolds all contributed RBIs in that outburst for La Cueva.
At Eldorado, Griffin Burak allowed just two hits over five innings in a first-game victory over the Demons. Ethan Marquez was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and four RBIs, and Brody Hoffman was 2-for-3.
Hoffman was also 2-for-3 in Game 2. Abram Pine pitched four scoreless innings, and he also doubled and drove in a run for Eldorado, which has won seven in a row and 11 of its last 13, the only two losses coming in a district doubleheader to La Cueva.
No. 5-ranked Rio Rancho on Friday afternoon was one-half game behind second-ranked Cleveland in the District 1-5A standings. The Rams (20-6, 8-2) overtook the Storm (18-8, 7-3) in the district with a 10-3 victory over Cleveland at home on Friday, then hit the road Saturday and posted a 6-1 victory at Farmington to clinch first place outright. Adan Bustos allowed just a single run and struck out seven in five innings of work. Noah Serna and Mattheis Santhoeurn combined for four hits and three RBIs.
At Sandia, the La Cueva softball team (23-3, 10-0) took two games from the Matadors (15-11, 7-3), winning 2-0 and 13-3.
Lili Montoya in Game 1 authored one of the great games of the season by any pitcher, surrendering just hits while striking out 19 Matadors. She also scored one of La Cueva’s two runs.
In Game 2, Genesis Jaramillo had two hits and scored three runs for the Bears. Brooklyn Eardley had two hits and drove in a pair of runs. MaceRae Santistevan hit a home run and had three RBIs.
The state baseball and softball tournament brackets are scheduled to be released at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday by the New Mexico Activities Association.
There is a major new wrinkle in softball. Rather than the top eight seeds hosting a single-elimination game and advancing to Week 2, the top four seeds will host four-team pods. The No. 1 seed (expected to be Centennial) will host the 16 seed, plus the 8 and 9 seeds. The No. 2 seed (which might be La Cueva or Cibola) would host the 15 seed, plus the 7 and 10 seeds, and so on. Each of the 5A pods would feature three games.
Starting next week, the first round games and the quarterfinal round will be played at home sites. Rather than eight undefeated teams going from Week 1 to Week 2, there will be four unbeaten teams and four teams with a single loss. This is expected to reduce the maximum number of games played in Week 2 from 64 to 40, even though the losing teams in the quarters are still advancing out of the opening weekend.
Inclement weather, with a max of 64 games, has in past years (like last year) created some logistical nightmares. Not to mention trying to stage 64 games in a four-day period.
The tournament is double elimination AFTER the first round.
