The first round of the Class 5A Baseball Tournament contained just one major surprise – No. 12 Santa Teresa made the long trip to No. 5 Aztec and beat the home team in three games- promising some heated matchups in the quarterfinal round. All eight teams would have been off for four days, so most teams will likely throw their top pitchers.
The four quarterfinal games Thursday are split between St. Pius X High School and Santa Ana Star Field in Albuquerque. Friday’s semifinals are scheduled for Santa Ana Star Field, while the state championship game is Saturday at 3 p.m. at Isotopes Park.
St. Pius X (3) vs. Artesia (6), 10 a.m. (At Santa Ana Star Field) – Despite changing coaches in midseason, St. Pius X entered the postseason on a positive note after winning District 5A-5 by two games over Valencia. They slipped past No. 14 Belen, a district rival, in the first round, blanking the Eagles, 5-0, in the opener as junior Ryan McGaha (6-3) and senior Mitch Buffett (got final two outs) combined on a three-hitter. In Game 2, St. Pius X won a squeaker, 3-2. Interim head coach Matt McCoy is 9-0 since taking over for longtime Sartans head coach Marc Hilton. Once floundering at 9-9 this season, will the magical run continue for St. Pius X?
Artesia’s 0-5 start to the 2017 season in which they were shutout three times is a distant memory now that the Bulldogs have reached the quarterfinals. Artesia’s pitchers brought their ‘A’ game into the first round series against Kirtland Central as they fired a pair of shutouts, winning 7-0 and 9-0. Sophomores JR Bustamante and Trent Taylor recorded the wins on the mound for the Bulldogs, allowing just five runners combined to reach scoring position in the two-game sweep. Clearly, the Bulldogs have gotten hot at the right time, winning nine of their last 10 games entering Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup against St. Pius X.
Alamogordo (1) vs. Miyamura (8), noon (At St. Pius X) – Top-seeded Alamogordo easily handled Bloomfield in the first round, outscoring the Bobcats, 18-2, during the two-game sweep last weekend. Alamogordo carries a 10-game winning streak to Albuquerque, and is hitting on all cylinders. Senior pitcher Jarod Johnson set the tone for the weekend by holding Bloomfield hitless until the fifth inning of Game 1, retiring the first 11 batters. He finished with a complete-game 4-hitter, and now should get the ball for Thursday’s win-or-go home quarterfinal game.
If so, what will he face in Miyamura? The Patriots won a three-game duel with Farmington even though they scored just seven runs in the series. Both Miyamura wins came by one run (4-3, 1-0). In the decisive third game, Miyamura scored the only run in the first inning and held off Farmington from there. They’ll need the same type of pitching performance to have any chance against Alamogordo. The key question is whether they can score enough runs offensively to give themselves an opportunity to upset the No. 1 seed.
Goddard (2) vs. Deming (7), 1 p.m. (At Santa Ana Star Field) – Goddard swept crosstown rival Roswell in the first round, but it wasn’t always easy. The Rockets won Game 1 in a nail-biter, 2-1, before cruising to an 11-1 win in Game 2. Goddard is seeking a third straight appearance in the Class 5A state championship game. In order to get there, they’ll need pitching performances like the ones they got last weekend as Ethan Coombes (Game 1) and New Mexico State commit Cal Villareal (Game 2) threw complete game gems. Between those two pitchers, Goddard has the mound talent to play for the title again.
But standing in their way is Deming, which had to battle its way past No. 10 seed Valencia in the opening series. The Wildcats had to go the distance, winning a slugfest in Game 3, 10-8, taking advantage of six Valencia errors. Deming posted a 6-1 win in Friday’s series opener behind the two-hit pitching of senior lefty Isaiah Aguilera, who will likely oppose Coombes on Thursday. Aguilera is just 5-6 on the season, but his ERA is respectable (3.27) and he has allowed only 52 hits (just 12 extra base hits) with 64 strikeouts in 66.1 innings pitched. He proved last weekend that he has the arm and array of pitches to give Goddard problems at the plate.
Albuquerque Academy (4) vs. Santa Teresa (12), 3 p.m. (At St. Pius X) – One of three Class 5A teams with 20 or more victories (Alamogordo and Goddard are the other two), Albuquerque Academy eliminated No. 13 seed Grants last weekend, winning a rout (10-2) and a squeaker (2-1) on consecutive days to keep alive their dream of a second state title in three years. The Chargers are rolling coming into the quarterfinals with 13 victories in their last 15 games.
Few first round victories in any class were as remarkable as Santa Teresa’s 3-game conquest of No. 5 seed Aztec on the road. Located a few miles north of El Paso near the Mexico border, Santa Teresa traveled more than 400 miles each way last weekend, impressively rebounding from a shutout loss in Game 1 to stun Aztec with 13-5 and 8-4 victories, guaranteeing a long and happy ride home for the Desert Warriors. They certainly lived up to their nickname last weekend in northeast New Mexico.
5A BASEBALL
5A Quarterfinals - May 11th
#1 Alamogordo vs #8 Miyamura, 12pm (St. Pius X)
#2 Goddard vs #7 Deming, 1pm (Santa Ana)
#3 St. Pius X vs #6 Artesia, 10am (Santa Ana)
#4 Albuquerque Academy vs #12 Santa Teresa, 3pm (St. Pius X)
5A First Round - May 5th/6th
Game One Recaps - Friday, May 5th
#1 Alamogordo vs #16 Bloomfield
#2 Goddard vs #15 Roswell
#3 St. Pius X vs #14 Belen
#4 Albuquerque Academy vs #13 Grants
#5 Aztec vs #12 Santa Teresa
#6 Artesia vs #11 Kirtland Central
#7 Deming vs #10 Valencia
#8 Miyamura vs #9 Farmington
