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Mar. 21—The top two seeds at the Albuquerque Metro Softball Championships both started quickly on Friday. As a result, they'll close the tournament against one another on Saturday.
No. 1 seed Cibola had a six-run first-inning outburst in its semifinal victory over Sandia, and No. 2 La Cueva put up five first-inning runs on Rio Rancho later in the day, as the final for the 2025 event was set.
The Cougars (10-0) and Bears (7-3) will meet at noon Saturday at Cibola.
No. 2 LA CUEVA 14, No. 3 RIO RANCHO 0 (4 1/2 inn.): The Bears continue to play long ball in this tournament. After five bombs on Thursday in the quarterfinals against Atrisco Heritage, La Cueva went deep three more times Friday afternoon as the Bears overpowered the Rams.
One of the three homers Friday came from starting pitcher Lili Montoya, who crushed a three-run home run to center in the bottom of the first.
"That felt good," Montoya said. "It was a good way to get the momentum going."
MaceRae Santistevan added an RBI single, and Elizabeth Hoggan lifted a sacrifice fly for a early five spot.
That would prove to be all the offense Montoya would need in the circle, where she held Rio Rancho (5-4) to just two hits — one of them a fluke bloop double on the infield — and struck out eight.
The Rams had scored 20 runs the previous day versus Volcano Vista.
"The approach was just to do what I do," Montoya, a senior, said. "Those are all great players, I know they all have great swings ... but (I had) that trust in myself and confidence in myself that I could get through everybody. I always feel like I'm top dog in the circle."
In the second inning, Genesis Jaramillo hit the first pitch opposite field for a solo home run to right, and Lainey Alcaraz clubbed a two-run homer to center for an 8-0 lead. La Cueva tacked on five more runs in the third, keyed by a two-RBI single from Brooklyn Eardley.
Moving on to Cibola, the Cougars won at La Cueva 7-5 on the first day of March.
"We're very excited," Jaramillo said. "It's a bit of a personal game and we're ready to bring it."
No. 1 CIBOLA 10, No. 5 SANDIA 4: In the opening semi, the Cougars gave starting pitcher Gaby Moncada all she would need right out of the box, with a lengthy first inning outburst.
"I'm glad to have these group of girls," Moncada said.
Ava Benavidez's two-RBI double to center scored a pair of runs near the end of the rally; earlier, Moncada had an RBI double and Presley Peek-Ruscetti delivered an RBI single.
Sandia's defense was not tight, either, and the Matadors (4-4) had multiple errors that led to multiple runs before the first inning was over.
Sandia did make it interesting with three runs in the fifth to trail 7-4, but Cibola put the Matadors away with three in the bottom of the sixth, when Angelica Medina scored a pair of runs on a triple.
Moncada gave up four hits in her complete game, just one earned run, and struck out 10.
"She definitely was fresh," Cibola coach LaRae Melvin said. "She had about a week off (before Thursday), and she was ready to attack. She does well with hitting the zone that is called for her."
Continue reading...
No. 1 seed Cibola had a six-run first-inning outburst in its semifinal victory over Sandia, and No. 2 La Cueva put up five first-inning runs on Rio Rancho later in the day, as the final for the 2025 event was set.
The Cougars (10-0) and Bears (7-3) will meet at noon Saturday at Cibola.
No. 2 LA CUEVA 14, No. 3 RIO RANCHO 0 (4 1/2 inn.): The Bears continue to play long ball in this tournament. After five bombs on Thursday in the quarterfinals against Atrisco Heritage, La Cueva went deep three more times Friday afternoon as the Bears overpowered the Rams.
One of the three homers Friday came from starting pitcher Lili Montoya, who crushed a three-run home run to center in the bottom of the first.
"That felt good," Montoya said. "It was a good way to get the momentum going."
MaceRae Santistevan added an RBI single, and Elizabeth Hoggan lifted a sacrifice fly for a early five spot.
That would prove to be all the offense Montoya would need in the circle, where she held Rio Rancho (5-4) to just two hits — one of them a fluke bloop double on the infield — and struck out eight.
The Rams had scored 20 runs the previous day versus Volcano Vista.
"The approach was just to do what I do," Montoya, a senior, said. "Those are all great players, I know they all have great swings ... but (I had) that trust in myself and confidence in myself that I could get through everybody. I always feel like I'm top dog in the circle."
In the second inning, Genesis Jaramillo hit the first pitch opposite field for a solo home run to right, and Lainey Alcaraz clubbed a two-run homer to center for an 8-0 lead. La Cueva tacked on five more runs in the third, keyed by a two-RBI single from Brooklyn Eardley.
Moving on to Cibola, the Cougars won at La Cueva 7-5 on the first day of March.
"We're very excited," Jaramillo said. "It's a bit of a personal game and we're ready to bring it."
No. 1 CIBOLA 10, No. 5 SANDIA 4: In the opening semi, the Cougars gave starting pitcher Gaby Moncada all she would need right out of the box, with a lengthy first inning outburst.
"I'm glad to have these group of girls," Moncada said.
Ava Benavidez's two-RBI double to center scored a pair of runs near the end of the rally; earlier, Moncada had an RBI double and Presley Peek-Ruscetti delivered an RBI single.
Sandia's defense was not tight, either, and the Matadors (4-4) had multiple errors that led to multiple runs before the first inning was over.
Sandia did make it interesting with three runs in the fifth to trail 7-4, but Cibola put the Matadors away with three in the bottom of the sixth, when Angelica Medina scored a pair of runs on a triple.
Moncada gave up four hits in her complete game, just one earned run, and struck out 10.
"She definitely was fresh," Cibola coach LaRae Melvin said. "She had about a week off (before Thursday), and she was ready to attack. She does well with hitting the zone that is called for her."
Continue reading...
