FARMINGTON – The Bloomfield High School baseball team earned its fifth straight win and may well be playing for a district title this week after beating Aztec by a final of 4-2.
Meantime, the Piedra Vista softball team routed district rival Sandia in a doubleheader over the weekend to keep themselves firmly positioned for a postseason berth.
Here’s a look at all the action on the diamonds from this past weekend.
Francisco Rivera and Alex Garcia took advantage of a pair of defensive miscues in the first inning, giving Bloomfield an early lead they’d never relinquish in a 4-2 win Saturday morning at Bloomfield High School.
The win puts the Bobcats in a tie atop the District 1-4A standings with Miyamura. Both teams head into the final week of the regular season with identical 6-2 records in district play and will face off against each other Thursday afternoon at Miyamura High.
Rivera and Garcia each scored in the bottom of the first thanks to wild pitches and passed balls with both runners in scoring position. The Bobcats added a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to a fielder’s choice off the bat of McKell Colbert and an RBI single from Drew Perez that scored Colbert.
That 4-0 cushion proved to be enough despite a rally from Aztec, as they scored a run in the top of the sixth and seventh innings to narrow the gap, but couldn’t draw closer.
The Bobcats win evens the district series between the two squads. Aztec beat Bloomfield 7-6 at home when the teams faced each other earlier this month.
“There’s always a lot of energy in a rivalry game like this,” said Bloomfield coach Jim Belveal. “It was well-played on both sides in pitching and on defense.”
Aztec, the defending District 1-4A champion, has lost two in a row and falls to 12-10 overall. Aztec is two games back of both Bloomfield and Miyamura in the district standings with a record of 4-4. The Tigers will close out the regular season with a pair of home games, Tuesday afternoon hosting Gallup and Thursday against Kirtland Central.
Bloomfield (16-5 overall) closes out its regular season on the road against Kirtland Central on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Miyamura on Thursday.
The Piedra Vista High School baseball team dropped both ends of a home doubleheader against district rival Sandia on Saturday afternoon.
The Matadors won the opener by a final of 14-3, led by Elijah Bustillos and his 3 RBI’s, along with Talan Barraza, who scored a pair of runs and went 3-for-5 at the plate.
Sandia trailed in the opening game 2-0 after four innings before they came out and scored six times in the top of the fifth inning. They continued their offensive assault in the sixth, scoring eight runs to earn the win.
Pitcher Zachary Kmatz struck out five Panthers hitters, allowing only four runs and two walks over six innings to pick up the victory.
In the nightcap, Jameer Meadows scored three times to lead the Matadors to an 8-3 win, improving its record on the season to 15-8 (6-2 District 2-5A).
The Panthers again squandered a lead heading into the final innings, getting ahead of Sandia 3-2 heading into the sixth inning. The Matadors scored three times in the next two frames to earn the sweep.
Piedra Vista falls to 15-9 overall (4-4 District) and will wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader at Ricketts Park on Saturday against Farmington.
The La Cueva High School baseball team extended its unbeaten streak to eight games in District 2-5A play this season, rolling over Farmington in a Saturday doubleheader at La Cueva High School.
The Bears blanked Farmington 10-0 in the opening game of the doubleheader before a 25-4 rout closed out the day. The Bears, ranked second in Class 5A according to MaxPreps, improved to 19-4 overall and have won all eight district contests.
Farmington has lost four in a row and fall to 11-12 on the season (3-5 District). They’ll wrap up the regular season at Ricketts Park on Saturday facing crosstown rival Piedra Vista.
Emma Lovato pitched both halves of a doubleheader sweep for Piedra Vista at home Friday at home over Sandia, with the Lady Panthers winning by scores of 15-0 and 15-5.
Lovato threw eight combined innings in the wins, throwing three innings in the opening game, striking out seven and allowing only one hit. In the second game, Lovato gave up a pair of home runs, but struck out nine Lady Matadors hitters and earned her second win of the day.
Lovato and Landry Bales provided a big bulk of the offense in the first game, each of them driving in three runs and scoring a pair of runs apiece. Bales hit a home run in the win. Taquira Hood scored three times to lead the Lady Panthers in that category, with Brookelynne Cadrain, Danika Wilson and Ayanna Stevenes each scoring twice.
In the nightcap, Piedra Vista was led offensively by Cadrain, Wilson and Bales, who each scored three times. Brielle Sledge drove in five runs while Bales drove in four. The Lady Panthers scratched out 14 hits and took advantage of four Sandia errors in the win.
“We probably hit the ball as we have all year,” said Piedra Vista head coach Kevin Werth. “This was a very good outing heading into the final stretch.”
Piedra Vista (21-3 overall, 7-1 District 2-5A) has won four in a row and will wrap up the regular season schedule Friday at 4 p.m. in a doubleheader against crosstown rival Farmington at the Sports Complex.
The Lady Panthers came into the week ranked fifth in the state at Class 5A according to MaxPreps.
The La Cueva High School softball team extended its win streak to six straight games and maintain a slim advantage and remain tied atop the district standings after a doubleheader sweep at home Saturday over Farmington.
Nadya Moreno and Antonya Lucero drove in a combined seven runs for La Cueva in the opening game of the twin bill, with Moreno doing most of the damage with a home run in a 14-8 win over the Lady Scorpions.
In the nightcap, Lucero and Genesis Jaramillo each drove in three runs as the Lady Bears topped Farmington by a final of 11-3.
La Cueva (21-3 overall, 7-1 District 2-5A) remains tied atop the standings with Piedra Vista with both teams having one more doubleheader on the schedule. The Lady Bears, ranked third at the 5A classification, will visit Eldorado on Saturday morning.
Piedra Vista and La Cueva split a doubleheader earlier this month, representing the only losses within each team’s district campaigns.
The Lady Scorpions fall to 17-7 overall (5-3 District) and will wrap up the season on Friday in a doubleheader against Piedra Vista.
