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State baseball: Eagles grab high seed; Tigers on the road
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Modified
Los Lunas and Belen have advanced to the state baseball playoffs, taking part Friday and Saturday in the opening round best-of-three series.
Valencia was not selected, ending the season with a 10-15 record.
Belen Eagles
Another impressive season landed the Eagles (18-8) a No. 4 seed in 4A, hosting No. 13 Chaparral (15-11) in the first-round.
“We not only wanted to make the playoffs, we wanted to host,” first-year coach Justin Miller said about a team goal to start the season.
Miller is very familiar with Chaparral, facing the Lobos often while he was coaching in Silver City.
“They’ve got quite a few good arms. They can definitely swing it well,” Miller said. “It’s not a normal 13-seed. They’re pretty stinking good.”
So are the Eagles, who have won nine of their last 12 games.
“We’re starting to find our groove right now,” said Miller. “We’re playing some good baseball at a really good time.”
The series against Chaparral is at BHS, with games at 6 p.m., Friday, May 9, and at 11 a.m. Saturday and, if necessary, game three is at 1 p.m. Saturday.
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Los Lunas Tigers
The series between No. 9 Los Lunas at No. 8 Volcano Vista in 5A is going to draw interest from even the casual high school baseball fan.
Yes, the two teams are evenly matched, but last post-season LLHS eliminated the Hawks, with the final game ending in a ruckus involving VVHS coaches, players and fans upset with the umpiring. The New Mexico Activities Association gave the Volcano Vista baseball program and its fans a “first strike” for poor behavior.
For Los Lunas coach Paul Cieremans, that is water-under-the bridge. The Tigers beat VVHS earlier this season in a game without incident.
“They (VVHS) definitely understand what went on last year,” said Cieremans. “The new coach (Scott Brandt) has some good discipline.
“I think we match up very well,” said Cieremans, who will rely on his pitching rotation, which “will have to carry us again in this three-game set.”
In addition, the Tigers look for “timely hitting, get guys on base, be able to do our fundamentals and we’ll be OK.”
The best-of-three series is 4 p.m., Friday, May 9, 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the if-game at 12 p.m. Saturday at Volcano Vista.
