Tigers advance; Eagles eliminated in state baseball

For the second year in a row, Los Lunas went on the road and handled Volcano Vista to open the 5A Baseball State Championships, but it was heartbreak for Belen in the 4A playoffs.

Los Lunas Tigers

The best-of-three series between No. 9 Los Lunas (18-10) and eighth-seeded Volcano Vista (15-13) was expected to be tight. Instead, the Tigers went on the road and outscored the Hawks 29-1 to easily advance to the quarterfinals.

“Our boys pitched very well. They set the tone in both games,” said Paul Cieremans, LLHS coach. “It allowed us to be a little more aggressive on the bases.”

In game one Friday, Matthew Castillo went the distance, giving up just five hits in the 15-1 victory. JJ Utash hit a home run and had three runs-batted-in to lead the Tigers, who scored eight times in the seventh.

It didn’t take long on Saturday to wrap up the series, with LLHS posting a dominant 14-0 shutout, the game ending in the fifth inning because of the mercy rule. Kaiden Reese tossed a one hitter, while Volcano Vista committed six errors.

“Kaiden threw a great game,” said Cieremans. “We played some pretty good defense behind him.”

Six batters drove in runs for Los Lunas, with Mark Scime leading the way with four RBI.

After LLHS eliminated Volcano Vista last season, the Hawks were given a first-strike by the New Mexico Activities Association for poor behavior by the players, coaches and fans. There were no issues in this year’s series.

The prize for Los Lunas is a Thursday quarterfinal showdown with top-seeded La Cueva.

“They have it all,” including pitching, defense, speed and power, Cieremans said of La Cueva.

The Tigers lost twice to the Bears earlier this season, 8-4 and 9-4. Those results have not discouraged the Tigers.

“The first four or five innings, it was pretty tight,” Cieremans said of both contests.

First pitch is at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Riordan Sports Complex in Albuquerque.

Belen Eagles

In 4A, No. 4 Belen was unable to protect the home turf, falling to 13-seeded Chaparral in a best-of-three series that featured high drama until the final out.

The end came for BHS (19-10) in a 12-11 loss in game three, with a double-play closing the door and sending the Lobos into celebration.

The outcome was especially painful after the Eagles lost the first game of the series and then overcame a 3-0 deficit in game three.

BHS built a 9-5 lead heading into the fifth inning of the winner-take-all showdown.

“It seems we got complacent a little bit,” said Justin Miller, first year Belen coach. “We got a big lead and a few balls didn’t go our way. Unfortunately, it spiraled.”

The Lobos (17-12) answered with seven straight runs to pull ahead 12-9 in the last frame. A double by Damian Avila helped BHS pull to within one score, but a shortstop to second to first double play ended the rally and the series.

“This is my least favorite part of the job,” an emotional Miller said about consoling the players. “They’re a special bunch. This is a group I’ll never forget.”

Miller may not forget the Chaparral celebration either, which included a confetti cannon that launched paper onto the field. The coach picked up a handful of confetti that will go “right on our wall in the locker room,” to be used as motivation.

The series started Friday, with BHS generating only four hits in a 15-4 setback.

“We didn’t swing the bats well at all,” Miller noted.

The Eagles clawed back to take game two 9-2 behind an excellent pitching performance from Antonio Gomez, but Belen couldn’t sustain the momentum in the finale.

“This is definitely going to sting,” said Miller following the last out.