Cieremans shines as prep baseball and softball rolls on

Los Lunas baseball

The Los Lunas baseball team was back in action after an eight-day break, taking on the Cibola Cougars in their only contest last week.

The Tigers got six strong innings of pitching from Paul Cieremans, who struck out nine Cibola batters in the outing, to grab an 8-2 victory.

Vlad Olivas went 1-for-4 for Los Lunas, with three runs batted in. Ryan Castillo came in and pitched the seventh inning, striking out the side to secure the win.

The Tigers then paid Miyamura a visit on Tuesday, and despite a strong pitching performance from Ryan Castillo, Los Lunas lost by a 3-2 final.

Castillo worked five innings, gave up just one hit and one unearned run, while striking out 10.

Miyamura’s pitching stifled the Tigers bats, and ended up scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth to collect the win.

The Tigers are now 8-6 on the season and will open up district play with a double-header on Saturday against Manzano at LLHS.

 

Valencia baseball

The snow storm last week affected the Jaguars schedule. Instead of playing a home double-header against Pojoaque Valley, the storm forced the Jags to play those games on the road.

In game one, a six-run, second inning carried Valencia to a 9-3 victory.

Martin Chavez continued his hot season at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double, two runs batted in and two runs scored. Chavez also stole three bases during the victory.

Jacob Apodaca had a big game on the mound for VHS, going six innings, giving up just one earned run, while striking out seven batters in the win.

In game two, Valencia needed runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to come away with a 3-2 victory.

Eddie Bracamonte went 1-for-3 with two runs batted in. He also took the win as the pitcher, going four innings, giving up two earned runs and striking out six Pojoaque Valley batters.

The Jaguars then traveled to Miyamura for a double-header on Saturday, and those two went opposite of the Pojoaque Valley double-header.

In game one, the Jaguars would fall 4-3 in eight innings, after leading the game 3-0 in the fourth.

Emilio Gonzales would have a solid game, going 2-for-4 with a run batted in and three stolen bases.

In game two, Valencia would fall behind 5-0 after four innings, but Martin Chavez would try his best to keep them in the contest.

Following an RBI single by Gonzales, Chavez came to the plate with the bases loaded. He came through with a double, driving in all three runs to bring Valencia within 5-4.

Two innings later, Miyamura removed all doubt, scoring four more runs to take a 9-4 win.

The Jaguars visited the Hub City on Tuesday night, and things did not go according to plan.

Despite a strong start from pitcher Martin Chavez, the bats never came to life for Valencia, as they ended up on the wrong side of a 5-2 decision.

Chavez went five innings and recorded eight strikeouts, but also gave up three earned runs during the start.

Valencia is now 7-8 on the season and 0-1 in-district action.

The Jaguars will entertain Albuquerque High on Thursday night at VHS.

 

Belen baseball

The snow storm wreaked havoc on the Eagles as well, causing the cancellation of the contest with Gallup early in the week, then postponing the contest with West Mesa on Wednesday.

The Eagles did get in their double-header against Del Norte on Saturday, and that trip was a successful one.

In game one, the Eagles tallied 12 runs over the first three innings to take a commanding lead on their way to a 16-2 win in five innings.

Angel Garcia got the win as the pitcher for Belen, allowing just two hits and striking out five Knight batters.

In game two the Eagles got seven runs in the top of the first inning to propel them to a 10-5 victory.

Malakhi Chavez and Jace Martinez combined to strike out 10 Del Norte batter in the victory.

Belen then opened district play by hosting the Valencia Jaguars.

Pitcher Kenny Trujillo would go the distance for Belen, and despite only striking out three batters, he came away the winner as the Eagles won 5-2 on the blustery night.

That win pushes the Eagle winning streak up to four games on the season. Belen now sits at 9-6 on the season and 1-0 in-district.

Up next for the Eagles is a visit to Highland that will come on Friday night.

 

Belen softball

The Lady Eagles got to play in some football weather last week in their game against West Las Vegas.

With snow falling from the sky, Belen would plate 15 runs to easily defeat the Dons by a final of 15-4.

With the weather much better on Friday against Hope Christian, the Lady Eagles continued their hot streak, winning 7-0 over the Lady Huskies.

That win marks the fifth straight for Belen on the season, then came a road trip to Lovington on Saturday for a double-header.

In game one, Lovington came out swinging, scoring nine runs in the first inning to power them to a 14-4 win.

Game two did not prove to be any better for the Lady Eagles, as they gave up six runs in the fifth inning in a 10-3 loss.

On Tuesday night, the Lady Eagles got back on the winning track, scoring 15 runs over the final three innings to notch a 17-8 win over in-county rival Valencia. With the win Belen is now 7-9 on the season and 1-0 in-district play.

Following a home game with Las Cruces, the Eagles will then be back in-district with a road game against Highland, before traveling to take on Dexter on Saturday.

 

Los Lunas softball

The Lady Tigers were in Rio Rancho over the weekend for the Kristin Griego Memorial Tournament for three games.

In the opening contest of the tournament against Bernalillo, the Lady Tigers scored seven runs in the second inning, and that proved to be just enough as they were able to stave off the Lady Spartans by a final of 7-6.

Kylie Garcia went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored. Grace Baca and Marleigh Manns also scored runs in the victory.

The next two contest of the tournament were rough ones for the Lady Tigers.

Against the No. 5 team in the state, Hobbs, the Lady Tigers could not find offense, and lost by a final of 17-2.

In the seventh-place contest with La Cueva, Los Lunas didn’t find any offense once again, this time losing by a final of 20-0.

The Lady Tigers did finish eighth out of 18 teams in the tournament.

On Tuesday night, the Lady Tigers paid West Mesa a visit, and it was a rough visit for Los Lunas.

The Lady Tigers fell behind and could not overcome the pitching of West Mesa as the Tigers fell by a final of 12-2.

Following those contests, Los Lunas is now 4-9 on the season and will play a double-header against Manzano on Saturday.

 

Valencia softball

Snow forced the Lady Jaguars contest with Del Norte to be canceled, but Valencia traveled to Rio Rancho over the weekend to take part in the Kristin Griego Memorial Tournament.

Valencia opened the tournament with a 5-1 loss to Kirtland Central on Thursday. That loss put the Lady Jaguars into the consolation bracket, where Valencia took on Los Alamos.

Los Alamos got six runs in the second inning to help them get past the Lady Jaguars by a final of 11-3.

All was not lost for the Lady Jaguars as the next game in the tournament against Bloomfield had a happier ending. After falling behind 10-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Jaguars scored seven runs to stun Bloomfield by a final of 11-10.

Alayna Pacheco went 3-for-4 with four runs batted in and two runs scored in the win for Valencia.

On Saturday, Valencia ended the tournament by grabbing a 4-3 win over Miyamura. With the two wins, Valencia would finish 13th out of 18 teams at the tournament.

In Tuesday’s district opener against Belen, the Lady Jaguars gave up five home runs and 15 runs over the final three innings to drop a 17-8 decision to the Lady Eagles.

Following those games, Valencia is now 3-10 on the season and 0-1 in-district play.

Valencia will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to meet Lovington.