State softball: Brackets reveal good news for Jaguars, Eagles and Tigers

All three local softball teams qualified for the post season. Los Lunas and Belen were fully expected to be in their respective brackets, but the addition of Valencia in the 4A state tournament came as a surprise to some.

A new format for the 4A and 5A tournaments has been introduced, with the top four seeded teams each hosting a quadrant with a total of three games. The losers in the opening round will be eliminated, while the winners play each other for seeding, advancing into the main draw of the state tournament.

Los Lunas Tigers

Los Lunas (18-6) is an eight-seed in 5A and will play District 5-5A rival Atrisco Heritage Academy (19-6) at the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces, hosted by No. 1 Centennial.

“It’s always a bummer to travel somewhere and play a district foe,” said Patrick Ortiz, LLHS coach. “You always want to play someone else.”

With that said, the Tigers have a positive outlook heading into the contest after splitting with the Jaguars during the regular season.

“I love the matchup. The way the girls have been playing lately, I feel real confident,” Ortiz said.

“I really don’t know how I feel about it,” Ortiz admitted about the new format. “We can’t wait to play. When you are playing so well, you want to continue playing, not have any days off.

LLHS plays AHA 5 p.m., Friday, May 9, with the winner immediately playing either Centennial or No. 16 Eldorado.

Belen Eagles

There will also be familiarity in 4A when No. 10 Belen (14-12) faces No. 7 Gallup (13-9) noon Saturday in Artesia.

The Eagles defeated GHS 10-6 in early March and were eliminated in the 2024 4A State Championship by the Bengals, who won the title.

“I think we’re in a good spot,” said Oscar Medrano, BHS coach. “I like the seed and I like the schedule.”

What Medrano doesn’t particularly like is the new format.

“I would rather have the higher seeds host the first round,” he said.

Under the former alignment, Gallup would have visited BHS.

Ultimately, it’s how you play that matters.

“Our offense has really come alive. Our defense has picked up a little bit and our pitching is going well right now,” Medrano said, praising ace pitcher Lorissa Scott.

The Eagles seem to be playing well and getting healthy at the right time.

“They’re a solid team,” she said. “They’re well coached, but I like our matchup.”

In the other quadrant game, No. 2 Artesia plays No. 15 Deming.

Valencia Jaguars

Also in 4A, Valencia (9-14) was considered a bubble-team heading into Sunday’s NMAA bracket announcement. When the Jaguars were announced as the 16 seed, there were likely a few gasps around the state.

“I was expecting to sneak in there,” said VHS first-year coach Jacob Rael, who watched the reveal while at a slow pitch softball game.

Valencia was in a three-way tie with Deming and Portales for the final two places, with VHS getting the nod in a tiebreaker over Portales for the last spot.

Even though the Jaguars must travel to top ranked Silver, Rael is thrilled to take on the Fighting Colts (22-4).

“It doesn’t matter who the opponent is at this point,” Rael said. “Just play the best game that we can and go from there.”

VHS hasn’t been to the state tournament since 2019, so the selection is huge according to Rael.

“It’s a big confident boost for the girls. It’s a great thing for the program itself.”

First pitch is 6 p.m., Friday, May 9, against Silver. The winner meets either St. Pius or Kirtland Central 11 a.m. Saturday.