5/21/09
The Española Lady Sundevils got off to a slamming start in the Class AAAA state softball tournament May 14 when junior Evelyn Caballero socked a home run on her first at-bat against Moriarty.
The 1-0 lead stood for three innings before things unraveled for Española.
“Errors cost us,” Española coach Robbie Garcia said.
The ninth-seeded Moriarty Pintos scored seven runs in the fourth inning and added four more in the fifth to end the opening-round game at 11-1 under the 10-run mercy rule.
The eighth-seeded Sundevils landed a more favorable match in their second game, taking on 16-seed Bernalillo. Española had swept a doubleheader from the Spartans May 2, at the end of the regular season, to clinch their third straight District 2AAAA title.
But Bernalillo surprised the Sundevils at state, scoring seven runs in the first inning and holding off Española for a 12-8 victory that ended Española’s stay in the double-elimination state tournament.
“We should have played a little bit farther,” Garcia said. “(But) a lot of our young girls got experience at state.”
Elkettes Upset
In the Class AAA state softball tournament, Pojoaque pulled off a stunning upset in the opening round before losing two heartbreakers by one run each.
“I’m real proud of the way they showed up at state,” Pojoaque coach Ricky DeHerrera said.
Pojoaque entered as the 13th seed and faced fourth-seeded Hope Christian first. The Elkettes weren’t scared and took a 2-0 lead. With the score tied at 2-2 in the sixth inning, Miquela Lovato led off for Pojoaque and cracked a huge home run.
“She hit a shot,” DeHerrera said. “It must have gone 230 feet.”
The Elkettes then added another run to take a 4-2 lead. Hope Christian scored one run in the bottom of the seventh inning but the Elkettes defense preserved a 4-3 upset victory.
“They knew they weren’t a 13-seed and proved it,” DeHerrera said. “They were a team on a mission.”
Pojoaque was still on that mission in its next game May 14 against Raton. The Tigers, seeded fifth, had beaten Pojoaque three times during the regular season.
The Elkettes again hung tough against a higher-ranked opponent and led 3-2 going into the sixth inning. But Raton scored twice to take a 4-3 lead and held off Pojoaque in the top of the seventh inning for the victory.
The tough loss seemed to take the wind out of the Elkettes’ sails May 15 against 16th-seeded Dexter. Starting pitcher Mariah Urbina, who had been the winning pitcher against Hope Christian, issued seven walks. The rest of the Elkettes committed seven errors and Dexter won 6-5, despite having just five hits compared to Pojoaque’s 10.
Bobcats Bite It
A tough loss to a familiar foe ended McCurdy’s quest for a Class A-AA state softball title.
McCurdy won the 2002 state championship by defeating Jal 2-0 in the final game. The Bobcats, seeded third in this year’s tournament, opened play May 15 by blasting Eunice 13-0, setting up a showdown later that same day with second-seeded Jal.
“We battled Jal tooth and nail,” McCurdy assistant coach Anthony VanderVossen said.
The Panthers were leading 3-0 going into the seventh inning when McCurdy fought back.
Alex Martinez stroked a single, Espi Salazar drew a walk and Samantha Seeds drove them both in with a double. Seeds came in to score on a passed ball to tie the score at 3-3, forcing a tiebreaker in extra innings.
The international tiebreaker in softball places a runner at second base and gives each team three outs to score as many runs as they can. In the first inning of the tiebreaker, neither team could score a run. In the second extra inning, Jal scored two runs and McCurdy could only answer with one, giving Jal a 5-4 victory.
“We knew we could play with them,” VanderVossen said. “They were frustrated they didn’t win.”
McCurdy pitcher Rikki Ortiz pitched all nine innings for the Bobcats and struck out 15 Panthers, but took the loss.
McCurdy bounced back in their next game May 16, erasing fifth-seeded East Mountain 19-1. But their run at state ended later that day against fourth-seeded Capitan, who defeated McCurdy 6-4 to end the Bobcats’ season.