Aztec bests Pirates 4-1 in Quarterfinals

Rio Rancho High School was the focus of attention last Thursday, May 12, as our hometown Pirates of Grants High School played in the quarterfinals of the state baseball tournament against the Aztec Tigers.

“A heartbreaker of a game,” said Grants High School baseball coach Walter Sarracino of the Pirates 4-1 loss to the Aztec Tigers, thus ending the season for the Pirates.

“We didn’t hit the ball; we have been hitting well this season – both team’s pitching was great and defense was good on both sides.” Defense ruled the field as both teams remained scoreless until the third inning when senior Tyler Everhart hit a hardline drive to third base, which was dropped, al lowing for Andres Lopez to score and give the Pirates the 1-0 lead.

“I knew anything over the plate I was going to get ahold of,” said Everhart of his hit.

The fourth inning remained scoreless. In the fifth inning, the Pirates tried to make a double play that did not come through, resulting with runners on first and second base.

Ryan Ray, who leads the state in home runs with 10 overall in 4-A, stepped up to bat and hit a three-run homerun, with runners on first and second base, to make the score 3-1. “We left a pitch up and he [Ray] took advantage,” said Sarracino. Pirate pitcher, junior Nick Bustos, threw a solid game before giving up the homer to Ray.” I pitched a pretty good game,” said Bustos.

“He threw a great game and this was his first loss,” said Sarracino of Bustos’s pitching. To his credit, Bustos struck out six and walked four before freshman Dominick Gonzales closed out the game. Ray also pitched a solid game for the Aztecs as he struck out five and walked five.

“Even with that, we’d come back from that deficit before,” said Sarracino. The sixth inning went back to defensive posture as both teams went scoreless. The Tigers added one run in the seventh inning to give them the 4-1 win.

The Pirates ended the season with a notable 20- 9, 6-2 record and will graduate four seniors: William Archuleta, Mauricio Chavez, Tyler Everhart and Markos Garcia.

Sports Wrap-Up

The Lady Pirates Track and Field team competed in the medley sprint relay race at the New Mexico Activities Association State Track and Field meet over the weekend in Albuquerque, N.M. The Lady Pirates placed eighth in the event with a time of 4:39.86. Senior Marina Lucero took 11th place in the triple jump, with a leap of 28-11.75. John Paul Miller, a freshman, placed 13th in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:25.50.

The Laguna-Acoma Hawks Softball Team (14-13, 6-2) were bested by the Rangerettes of Mora High School (12-6, 3-0) by a score of 25-15 on Wednesday, May 11 in the first round of the 2-A state softball tournament.