Is it windy enough? Not sure why, but it definitely seems like one of our windiest Springs in recent memory. Windgusts aside, local baseball and softball teams are in full swing as they start district play this week.
There will be no fooling around when the Pirates open up their district play which starts with a home game with the Valencia Jaguars (8-7) on April Fool’s day, April 1.
“Valencia is a quality opponent and seems to always give us fits so our full focus is on that game,” said GHS head baseball coach Mike Furbee. “We are definitely trending in the right direction which is a good thing heading into district play.”
A good direction indeed. The Pirates recently wrapped up a doubleheader with Kirtland Central (6-8) where they bested them 13-3 and 16-1.
“I was very happy with our defense which had zero errors in those two games,” said Furbee.
“You can see our approach at the plate starting to get better on the offensive end”.
In that first game against Valencia Noah Lundstrum led the Pirates in RBI’s with three, followed by Dominick Gonzales, Niko Young and Zeth Villasana with two apiece. Diego Lopez, Josiah Marquez and Boudy Melonas had one RBI apiece. Freshman Evan Taylor pitched five innings allowing six hits, three runs, three earned runs and had four strikeouts.
In the second game, Gonzales had six RBI’s followed by fellow senior Melonas who had three. Lopez and Derek Rhoades had one apiece.
Senior Ethan Taylor pitched three innings allowing two hits, one run, one earned run and four strikeouts.
Ethan Taylor pitched two innings and had two strikeouts.
The Pirates are first in District 5 4A followed by Belen (9-5), Valencia (87), St. Pius (7-10) and Highland at (3-7-3).
As far as the state rankings go, the Pirates are ranked fifth in the state in 4A with district rivals Belen ranked ninth and St. Pius is ranked 11th.
Pirate Softball
The GHS softball team will travel to Valencia (3-10) to take on the Lady Jaguars on April 1. “We’re looking forward to facing Valencia–it’s worth noting we have not beaten them since 2012–which adds an extra layer of motivation for us,” said GHS head softball coach Victor Aldaz.
“They have a great team but I truly believe in our girls—if we stay focused and play our game –we can pull off a win.”
“As we move into district play–we understand that we have to win consistently to make a run for the playoffs,” said Aldaz.
“Our district is competitive and we will take it one game at a time,” concluded Aldaz.
Prior to the game with Valencia the Lady Pirates played a double-header against Albuquerque Academy (6-7) where they split winning the first game 13-9 and lost the second game by a score of 10-0.
“We had not beaten Academy them since 2019–in game 1–we really demonstrated that we can compete at that level,” said Aldaz.
“Although game two did not go our way,” added Aldaz. “Academy scored six runs in the second inning—but overall, the first game showed we are capable of winning.”
Currently, the Lady Pirates are second in district 5 4A just behind Belen (8-8), St. Pius (510), Valencia (3-10) and Highland (2-9).
In the state 4A rankings Belen is ranked 8th and St. Pius is 11th.
CIBOLA COUNTY SPORTS ROUND-UP
The Laguna-Acoma Hawks baseball team is currently 6-4 after two recent wins. On March 28, they defeated a non-varsity team 16-5 and on March 29, defeated the Northwest Falcons of Shiprock (1-5) by a score of 22-0.
They will host district rival Hozho Academy (44) on April 3 in both teams' first district matchup. This is a classic match-up between Hawks who are the number one ranked team in district 1/2 2A and Hozho who is the second ranked team in the district. To add more fuel to the fire, Hozho is also the second ranked team in 2A in the state standings.
The Lady Hawks are 5-2 after defeating Thoreau (1-3) by a score of 29-6 on March 29th. The Lady Hawks are second in class 1/2 District 2 just behind, you guessed it, Hozho Academy at 7-0. The Lady Hawks are ranked third in the state rankings behind number one Loving (3-6) and Mesilla Valley Christian School (4-1).
The Grants High School boys and girls track teams did not have a meet this past weekend.