Valencia
The prep baseball season got under way this past week, and for the Valencia Jaguars, the season started with a bang.
Valencia played host to the Valencia High Invitational last week, and came out as the tournament champions.
On Thursday, Valencia opened the tournament with a 16-6 win over Gallup. Eliseo Ramirez had a big day at the plate in that game; going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and drove in five runs in the victory.
During the semifinals on Friday, the Jaguars defeated Kirtland Central, 5-1. In that contest, it was pitching that showed the way for the host Jaguars.
Martin Chavez and Ramirez combined for a no-hitter in that contest. Chavez threw six innings and struck out 14 Kirtland Central batters, while Ramirez pitched the seventh for Valencia.
The Jaguars overcame a 7-0 first-inning deficit Saturday to take an 18-11 victory. It was Chavez using his bat to help out the Jaguars, as he went 2-for-5 with a double and drove in three runs.
Valencia will host Los Lunas before heading out to Sandia Prep later on in the week.
Los Lunas
The Tigers were at Cleveland High School for the Storm Invitational last week, and Los Lunas came away winning just one of their three games.
The Tigers fell Thursday to the host Cleveland Storm by a final of 8-6. The Tigers squandered a 6-2 lead in the sixth inning, as the Storm pushed across six runs for the deciding difference.
Los Lunas was able to bounce back on Friday, needing extra innings to defeat county rival Belen, 6-3. Kaden Bell went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in for LLHS.
The Tigers then ended the tournament with a 9-6 defeat at the hands of Piedra Vista, to end the tournament at 1-2.
Los Lunas will visit Valencia this week before playing a tournament at Hobbs at the end of the week.
Belen
The Eagles were also at Cleveland High for the Storm Invitational, and just like their county rival, Los Lunas, the Eagles fell in two of their three games at the tournament.
Belen opened the tournament with a 10-0 win over Roswell on Thursday. Kenny Trujillo got the win as the Eagle pitcher.
In game No. 2, the Eagles fell 6-3 to Los Lunas in extra inning on Friday afternoon.
The Eagles wrapped up the tournament on Saturday, losing to Hobbs by a final of 6-0.
Belen will next be in action when they will be in the Hobbs Tournament at the end of this week.
Adam Evarts is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where he studied journalism and history. He has lived in Valencia County most of his life. Adam covers sports for the Valencia County News-Bulletin, including prep competitions for the three local high schools, Senior Olympics, rodeo, Little League and more.
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April 18, 2024
