Preps: Rio Rancho baseball, La Cueva softball establish metro preeminence on Tuesday
Apr. 11—It was an unusual Tuesday. Not only were the top two ranked high school baseball teams in the metro area — and the state — meeting on one field, but the top two ranked prep softball teams in the metro area met at another.
La Cueva's 12-4 softball victory over Cibola certainly cemented the Bears' position as the area's top threat to contend for a state championship.
Rio Rancho's 11-4 baseball win at No. 2 Volcano Vista solidified the Rams' position as New Mexico's premier Class 5A team.
BASEBALL: At Volcano Vista, No. 1 Rio Rancho scored four runs in the first inning, with three Rams crossing the plate on wild pitches from Hawks ace Regan Hall, and never looked back as the Rams extended their winning streak to 15 games, all against New Mexico foes.
The Rams' second win of the season over the Hawks also gave Rio Rancho (17-1-2, 3-0) undisputed possession of first place in District 1-5A.
The Hawks (12-5, 3-1) chipped away at an eventual 5-0 deficit with two runs in the second off Rio Rancho starter Kai Fitak. He was relieved in the third by Dylan Archuleta, who entered with runners at first and second and nobody out. Archuleta (4-0), who went the rest of the way, struck out Hunter Martinez and induced Alijah Gonzales to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Volcano Vista made things interesting with solo tallies in the fourth and fifth, cutting the Rams' lead to 5-4.
University of New Mexico commit Vascon Smith led off the sixth with a home run, and Rio Rancho broke it open in the seventh, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring five runs. Fitak hit a solo home run in that seventh for the Rams.
"I don't feel like we played really good today; we played a good team and they exposed some of our mistakes," Rio Rancho coach Ron Murphy said. He added, "We did enough to survive today."
The Rams have two more 1-5A games this week, against Atrisco Heritage and a make-up game against Cibola.
— Gary Herron
SOFTBALL: At La Cueva, Class 5A's third-ranked Bears (16-3) scored seven runs in the first two innings and they beat the sixth-ranked Cougars (17-4) for the second time this season.
"They're a very good team," La Cueva coach Ron Romero said of the Cougars. "We knew this would be a close game, and they hung in there for a long time."
Mel Macias drove in a pair of first-inning runs on a single to left-center. La Cueva tacked on five runs in the second; Nadya Moreno's hard-hit single to left plated two runs during that rally.
Jalyn Montes clubbed a three-run home run for Cibola in the third inning to cut the deficit to four runs. It was Montes' 17th homer of the season and second in two days.
The lead for La Cueva was 7-4 going to the sixth, and the Bears added five insurance runs, including a two-run homer by junior Kyra Zamora.
Macias drove in three runs as the Bears got contributions from up and down the lineup.
"I think we have the strongest nine batters," Macias said. "Anyone can hit in the whole lineup and that's what makes us so strong."
Said Romero, "We have a thing called one-sixteenth. Which means you do your part, all 16 girls, (they) all do their share."
La Cueva, one of four teams atop District 2-5A, returns to league play Saturday against Sandia, one of the other three teams who are tied for first.
— James Yodice
