AZTEC – The Montezuma-Cortez baseball team secured the Aztec Tiger Invitational championship title with a strong pitching performance and key hits throughout the weekend, defeating Taos 14-4 in the final game on Saturday at Fred Cook Stadium.
From the outset, Cortez took control of the game, building an early lead with a five-run first inning, while Taos managed just one. The Panthers kept the momentum going in the second, adding four more runs to their total.
The offense was sparked by powerful hits, starting with senior Seth Oakes, who drove in juniors Parker Conrad and Cory Carver. Shortly after, sophomore Easton Pixler followed with another explosive hit, bringing Oakes and junior Jaris McDonald across the plate.
Pixler was a standout for Montezuma-Cortez, finishing with a perfect batting average. In three plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with 2 RBIs. Oakes also went 2-for-2 with 3 RBIs in his two plate appearances, contributing significantly to the Panthers offensive surge.
The third inning featured another highlight for the Panthers when junior Evan Woody hit a home run, bringing himself and sophomore Jaiden Istenes across the plate for the only runs in that frame.
Cortez’s defense also played a key role, maintaining a perfect fielding percentage and making no errors throughout the game. In the bottom of the third, the Panthers defense stepped up to shut down Taos’ offense. After getting Mario Rodriguez out at first, they turned a double play to end the inning with just three batters faced, keeping the score at 11-1.
Aztec Tiger Tournament Scoreboard
Saturday
Montezuma-Cortez 14, Taos 4
Aztec 5, Page (Ariz.) 3
Durango 9, Bayfield 2
Valencia 13, Dolores 2
Friday
Montezuma-Cortez 9, Aztec 6
Durango 8, Valencia 3
Taos 12, Page (Ariz.) 2
Bayfield 13, Dolores 3
Thursday
Aztec 8, Durango 6
Montezuma-Cortez 13, Valencia 3
Page (Ariz.) 15, Dolores 5
Taos 16, Bayfield 11
On the mound, Montezuma-Cortez’s Michael Krupa delivered a solid performance, throwing four innings, allowing five hits, one earned run, and striking out one. Kallan Wirth came on in relief, pitching one inning and allowing three earned runs.
“Our pitching performance is what led us to our success,” said head coach Jake Huff. “(Krupa) started the game, and we played a good hitting team (Taos), but he allowed our fielders to help him too.”
Despite the early deficit, Taos showed some fight in the fifth inning, scoring 3 runs. Jeremiah Gonzales led the charge, going 2-for-2 with 2 RBIs, including a home run that gave the team a brief spark. However, the Panthers continued to capitalize on their opportunities, and Taos was unable to close the gap.
Wirth relieved Krupa in the bottom of the fifth inning and struck out Tony Medina. After a couple of walks and a base hit, Taos managed to advance some runners. But the Panthers defense came through again, turning a double play to seal the victory.
“We had good pitching, and that was the case for all three games,” Huff said. “We also hit the ball really well. It was a breakout weekend for us, and we’re looking for that to continue moving forward.”
With the win, the Panthers extended their winning streak to six games, with their only loss coming in the home opener against Coal Ridge. They will look to carry this momentum into the North Fork tournament on April 4.
Montezuma-Cortez earned their spot in the championship game after defeating Aztec 9-6 Friday night.
Seth Oakes earned the win for Montezuma-Cortez after striking out four batters and not allowing a run or hit through four innings.
Cory Carver and Samson Lein accounted for seven of the nine Panthers runs in the win over the Tigers. Carver posted a 3-for-3 mark at the plate with three doubles and two RBIs, while Lein went 2 for 3 with a home run and five RBIs.
In the opening game of the tournament, Montezuma-Cortez Montezuma-Cortez dominated Valencia by a final of 13-3.
Key contributors included Carver and junior Parker Conrad, who finished 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Carver chipped in with three RBIs on a 3-for-4 performance at the plate.
Taos advanced to the finals of the tournament off an opening round 16-11 win over Bayfield, followed by a 12-2 rout over Page (Ariz.)
Aztec High built a 5-run lead in the fifth inning before holding off a late Page (Ariz.) ralliy and winning third place in their own tournament with a 5-3 Saturday afternoon.
Aztec got on the board in the bottom of the first inning after Tyler Ray and Cory Douglas each drove in a run to give the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.
A sacrifice fly off the bat of Kaleb Hales scored Douglas and extended their lead to 3-0 after three innings.
Douglas and Kale Watson provided more punch for the Tigers offense, each driving in a run in the fifth inning to give Aztec the cushion they’d neeed for the win.
Tyler Ray was effective on the mound for the Tigers, allowing three hits and one run over six innings, striking out five and walking two. Caleb Wilkins appeared in relief for Aztec and closed out the contest.
Aztec welcomes Bloomfield on Tuesday in the opening game of the District 1-4A campaign.
