On the diamond-slow start for baseball, softball teams

Statistically, it has been a lukewarm start to the season for area baseball and softball teams, but difficult schedules have been a contributing factor.

Baseball

Los Lunas (3-3) went 1-2 in the Hobbs tournament, with the Tigers’ only win coming in a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Belen. Matthew Castillo had two RBIs for LLHS, while JJ Utash went the distance on the mound.

"We were able to scratch across a few runs off good pitching from Belen," said Paul Cieremans, LLHS coach. "It was a good weekend."

Antonio Gomez pitched well for BHS in a losing cause. The Eagles (2-4) were winless in the tournament, but faced all 5A competition, including Carlsbad, 2-1, and Clovis, 15-5.

At the Alamogordo Invitational, Valencia (3-3) posted a 2-1 record, with victories over Lovington, 2-1, and Ruidoso, 13-3, and a 6-4 loss in the championship game to Alamogordo.

Softball

Offensively, VHS (2-2) is off to a hot start, averaging 20 runs in the first three games. On Monday, the Jaguars lost to 5A Santa Fe 10-5.

Tuesday, Belen (3-4) hosted Valley, a 16-1 victory for coach Oscar Medrano defeated his former team. Last week, the Eagles were 1-3 in a Cleveland tournament but posted a 10-6 victory over defending 4A champion Gallup.

Los Lunas (2-2) lost twice to the host team in the Hobbs tournament, but defeated Goddard 6-3.