Preps: Somehow, these four softball teams are tied for district lead

Apr. 8—The District 2-5A softball race is crowded at the top.

Very crowded.

The weekend's doubleheader results have left two teams from Albuquerque — La Cueva and Sandia — plus Farmington and Piedra Vista all sharing first place with three weeks left in the regular season.

The key twinbill occurred Saturday in Farmington, as third-ranked La Cueva and No. 4 Piedra Vista split two games.

The Panthers (17-3, 3-1 in 2-5A), with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, took the opener 3-2. La Cueva (15-3, 3-1) overcame a four-run deficit in the second game and eventually scored three runs in the top of the eighth for a 9-7 victory in Game 2.

Addison Byers' RBI single to center in the eighth scored Kayla Davis with the go-ahead run for La Cueva in the eighth as it salvaged a crucial split. Byers scored moments later on an error, and Genesis Jaramillo added an RBI single, bringing in Mel Macias for a three-run edge.

"We definitely needed to at least come out of here with a split," La Cueva coach Ron Romero said. His team trailed 6-2 in the fourth inning in Game 2.

At Sandia, the Matadors scored in 11 of their 12 at-bats as they swept two games from Eldorado, 11-3 and 14-5 on Saturday.

The Matadors (10-7, 3-1) were scoreless in the first inning of Game 1, then scored at least two runs in every other inning — with one exception — on Saturday.

Alissa Ahmed was 3-for-4 with an RBI and also pitched four innings for the victory in Game 1. Abby Benavidez was 2-for-2 with four RBIs.

Benavidez, a senior first baseman, was 3-for-3 in Game 2. Freshman Lilianna Villanueva was 3-for-4 with four RBIs, and she pitched a complete game as Sandia finished off the sweep.

The Matadors visit La Cueva next Saturday.

Farmington (13-5, 3-1) won two games over West Mesa on Friday, with the Scorpions winning 13-12 and 6-4.

From District 5-5A, Albuquerque High and Los Lunas each won a pair of games Saturday, and those teams are tied for first place. The Bulldogs (15-5, 4-0) won 23-5 and 12-7 at Capital, while the Tigers (10-9, 4-0) won 11-1 and 12-2 at home over Santa Fe.

BASEBALL: La Cueva and Sandia both swept doubleheaders this weekend as the Bears and Matadors move closer to their huge showdown next Saturday.

The seventh-ranked Matadors (13-6, 4-0 in 2-5) on Saturday posted 11-1 and 14-4 victories over Eldorado. Sandia scored seven runs in the first inning of Game 1 and walked off Game 2 with six runs in the sixth.

Sandia sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning of the doubleheader, including four consecutive RBI singles.

Jameer Meadows was 3-for-4 in the first game for the Matadors. Danny Santiago and Adriel Figueroa-Brito each went 3-for-4 in the second game, and those two combined for nine hits in the two games.

Zach Kmatz and Justin Peterson pitched complete games for Sandia.

No. 6-ranked La Cueva won two games in Farmington against No. 8 Piedra Vista — 8-1 and 6-2 — on Friday afternoon.

Jackson Hix drove in three runs in the first game for the Bears (14-4, 4-0). Gehrig Pineda added three hits and an RBI.

La Cueva was down 2-1 late in Game 2, but rallied for five runs in the sixth. Pineda and Evan Lane each drove in a pair of runs as the Bears completed the sweep.

Sandia and La Cueva play at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday.

From District 5-5A, Los Lunas, Rio Grande and Albuquerque High all swept doubleheaders on Saturday, as each improved to 4-0 in league play. The Tigers (12-7) beat Santa Fe 13-3 and 11-2, the Ravens (11-6) won 5-3 and 5-0 over Manzano, and the Bulldogs (11-7) took a pair from Capital, 17-11 and 8-5.

AHS is at Rio Grande for two games next Saturday at 10 a.m.