Hear them roar: Favorites shine as prep softball and baseball tournaments get under way

May 10—Lili Montoya was in prime postseason form, leading No. 2 La Cueva to a 5-0 victory over No. 15 Volcano Vista in a Class 5A play-in softball game on a blustery Friday afternoon at La Cueva.

The junior pitcher scattered five hits over seven innings while striking out 11 to propel La Cueva (23-4) into the double-elimination portion of the state tournament next week. Montoya appeared to get stronger as the game progressed, striking out five consecutive Hawks during one stretch over the fifth and sixth innings.

"I feel like my mentality changed mid game," Montoya said. "It was like, this is for us and for our seniors — and just really locking in."

Volcano Vista had its best opportunity in the final frame, when back-to-back singles gave the Hawks (11-15) two on with one out. Montoya was unfazed, however, as she ended the threat — and the game — with a pop out and strikeout.

"I wasn't too concerned about it," Montoya said. "They got a few hits, but I just knew that I could finish the game. I was confident in myself. I didn't let it get to me."

"The circle was good today," added La Cueva coach Ron Romero. "Lily had a great game."

The Bears bested Volcano Vista 10-0 during a regular-season meeting on March 23, but the Hawks kept things closer this time around. La Cueva scored all its runs in the second, third and fourth innings — highlighted by a solo home run from Madison George and two-run double by Ciena Perez in the fourth stanza.

"I think everybody comes in a lot tougher than their seed. They played really hard," Romero said.

"I kind of expected this. I expected good pitching from us. I expected them to battle."

After having split a pair of games with No. 1 seed Alamogordo — the only team from New Mexico to beat La Cueva during the season — the Bears enter the next phase of the bracket with championship aspirations. La Cueva's last blue trophy in softball came in 2017, also under Romero's guidance.

"We're excited," Romero said. "This team's the No. 2 seed for a reason. They're hungry."

No. 5 seed Cibola also advanced to Week 2, routing No. 12 Farmington 13-2. On Friday night, No. 10 seed Rio Rancho (Mayfield), No. 14 Sandia (Centennial) and Cleveland (Alamogordo) were eliminated in the southern half of the state.

The notable 5A upset Friday was No. 13 Organ Mountain, 2-1 over fourth-seeded Hobbs.

In Class 4A, No. 4 St. Pius, No. 6 Bernalillo and No. 8 Belen won their elimination games in the first round on Friday. The Sartans easily handled Deming 15-3, the Spartans defeated Goddard 4-1, and the Eagles ousted Valley 6-2.

BASEBALL: There were no major upsets on Day 1 of the Class 5A state baseball tournament.

No. 1 La Cueva blanked Mayfield 10-0 in Game 1 on Friday; Braiden Reynolds had a two-out, bases-loaded double in the fourth inning to spark the Bears. And Reynolds, a right-hander, also threw a five-inning no-hitter against the Trojans.

No. 2 Rio Rancho won 12-2 in five innings over Clovis. The Rams sent 14 batters to the plate in the fourth inning, scoring eight runs. Nick DiGregorio was 3-for-3 and scored three times for Rio Rancho.

At Cleveland, the third-seeded Storm blanked Piedra Vista 6-0. Jaden Davis tossed a near complete-game three-hitter for Cleveland. He came out in the seventh inning.

No. 5 Sandia won 10-4 over No. 12 Las Cruces. Talan Barraza homered for the Matadors in their victory, and Adriel Figueroa-Brito went the distance on the mound for Sandia.

No. 6 Volcano Vista homered four times, starting pitcher Dominick Maese struck out nine and the Hawks opened up their series with a 12-1 triumph over 11th-seeded Los Lunas.

No. 9 Eldorado had an impressive 9-1 road win at No. 8 Rio Grande on Friday night. The Eagles were the only lower-seeded team to win a Game 1.

Carlsbad, seeded seventh, blanked Centennial 4-0 in Game 1 of that series.

From Class 4A, the best game of the day could be found at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Complex on the West Side.

No. 7 Hope Christian walked off No. 10 Bernalillo in Game 1 with a run in the bottom of the eighth, and the Huskies captured a 6-5 victory. Nolan Garcia drove in three runs for Hope, including the game-winner with a single in the eighth.

No. 3 Belen, No. 4 St. Pius and No. 6 Albuquerque Academy won comfortably in Game 1 of their series. The Eagles won 13-3 over Aztec, the Sartans defeated Chaparral 7-2, and the Chargers blanked Los Alamos 7-0.

For Academy, Matt Delaney struck out 13 Hilltoppers in six innings, and he and Mark McNaney each had two RBIs.

The first game of the day in 4A was No. 8 Bloomfield holding off ninth-seeded Valley, 9-6. No. 2 Grants had a scare from Portales before winning 4-3 on Friday. Top-seeded Goddard mercy ruled Kirtland Central.

From Class 3A, No. 11 Sandia Prep fell 8-5 at No. 6 Ruidoso in the first game of that series, which is also a rematch of the two teams that met in the 3A state final last year.