Just reaching the tournament was a big achievement for Pojoaque baseball.
The Elks had their best season in years, finishing with a winning record and a 9-3 district mark, their best in a long time.
In their first state tournament appearance since 2016, and first under the current alignment, the Pojoaque Elks (15-13) were summarily swept in two games, 10-0 and 23-0, by No. 2 seed St. Pius X (19-5) on the road in Albuquerque on May 5 and 6. But they might just be starting to build a program up under first-year coach David Soveranez.
“The boys, they’re going to give their best effort no matter who we play,” Soveranez said. “The perseverance over the year was the most impressive.”
In the first game, the Sartans scored six runs in the first inning, but calmed down from there, with a scoreless second, and a single run in innings three through six. Pojoaque, meanwhile, was quiet the whole game on offense.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Spartans led 9-0, and then recorded two walks, a sacrifice bunt, and then the winning run scored, ending the game early via 10-run rule.
“They learned how the details matter, small things on the field matter,” Soveranez said. “They learned that anything’s possible if we put our mind to it.”
Angelo Romero was strong in relief for Pojoaque, with just one unearned run in the final 1.1 innings, and starter Mateo Soveranez was effective after the rocky first inning, pitching four innings. Two St. Pius pitchers combined for a one-hit shutout in six innings.
For game two, hampered by injuries, Pojoaque found a bit more offense, with four hits in the game. But a nightmare 17-run first inning became the end of Pojoaque’s season. They lost in a blowout shutout that ended after five innings.
“We were a bit shorthanded, but no excuses,” David Soveranez said. “Those guys are a good team, and we had a good season.”
Pojoaque loses six graduating seniors after the season, all of whom were big contributors to the team. They will have a young team next year that includes two freshmen who started most of the season. But with a new culture in place, the sky is the limit for Elks baseball.
“Pojoaque has some talented kids,” Soveranez said. “We certainly have talent here in the valley.”