Bears are clear choices in 6A; 5A up for grabs
Comparing two baseball districts, one to the north and west, the other to the south and east, is almost a requisite chore as the first weekend of the high school state baseball playoffs begin today.
Some of the story threads as the postseason gets underway: Can nationally ranked La Cueva fulfill all that promise and close the deal in May? Who will succeed Centennial as the Class 5A state champ? Can Hope Christian continue Albuquerque’s excellence in the 4A division?
And then, of course, there is this: Lining up District 1-6A and District 4-6A and offering an honest evaluation, because these two leagues comprise 80 percent of the top 10 seeds.
District 1 has four of the top eight — Cleveland at No. 2, Piedra Vista at 3, Volcano Vista at 7 and Rio Rancho at 8.
“District 1 is loaded,” Centennial coach Rusty Evans said.
District 3 has four of the top 10: Hobbs fourth, Carlsbad fifth, Centennial sixth and Las Cruces 10th.
Piedra Vista coach Mike McGaha points out an important statistic: Hobbs, the District 3 champion, is 0-4 against District 1, with a loss to Rio Rancho, a loss to the Panthers, and two to District 1 champ Cleveland.
There is a major difference between the two, McGaha said.
“In District 1, it doesn’t matter if it’s the front half or back half of a doubleheader, there’s a college signee going in Game 2,” he said. “It’s a pretty devastating gantlet.”
Three of the six lowest-scoring teams in the 6A bracket hail from 1-6A, as opposed to only one in 3-6A (Hobbs). This suggests the pitching in 1-6A was clearly stronger and deeper. Also, the four playoff teams in 1-6A combined to score 75 fewer runs than the top four seeds from 3-6A.
District 1’s playoff teams went 9-5 in head-to-head matchups with District 3’s playoff teams. However, that’s a bit misleading, since Cleveland, Piedra Vista (on a no-hitter) and Volcano Vista all fell victim to the superior skills of Carlsbad left-hander Trevor Rogers.
Piedra Vista opens at home against No. 14 Atrisco Heritage. Other metro schools traveling are No. 9 Eldorado (at Rio Rancho), No. 12 Albuquerque High (at Carlsbad) and No. 13 Valley (at Hobbs).
Cleveland is home to No. 15 Mayfield and Volcano Vista is home for No. 10 Las Cruces.
Top-seeded La Cueva (23-1) — its terrific pitching staff and defense have yielded a scant 35 runs in 24 games — gets 10-14 Oñate.
District 3 qualified six of its seven teams for the postseason.
“It was a grind to get through the district,” said Evans, whose team lost a second-place tiebreaker to Carlsbad. “But to be honest, it was a really fun district in terms of us getting prepared every week.”
Should Piedra Vista and Centennial advance, 6A’s two newcomers would meet next Thursday in the quarterfinals. And Evans was an assistant coach to McGaha at Piedra Vista before Evans left for Las Cruces to open Centennial.
Class 5A
Unlike 6A, where La Cueva is a clear favorite, the 5A bracket is far more open-ended, especially since two former heavyweights, Centennial and Piedra Vista, are no longer here. Still, many familiar faces remain, and poised to make a run, including Goddard at No. 2.
Alamogordo, by seed, is the favorite.
Albuquerque has a pair of topfour seeds in No. 3 St. Pius and No. 4 Albuquerque Academy. The Sartans have won eight straight as they welcome No. 14 Belen for a first-round series.
The Chargers open at home against Grants. Academy went through the season with almost no input from its projected top three starting pitchers, making a 4 seed that much more impressive. Now, coach Andy Williams said, it’s up to the newcomers to shine.
“They don’t have the experience of a big game,” he said. “(But) as long as we do the things we’re supposed to, play good defense and get timely hitting, we’ll have a shot.”
Class 4A
In much the same way that Alamo benefited from dropping down a class, so did Bernalillo. The surprising Spartans are seeded sixth in their first season as a 4A program. And this is a team with only two seniors.
“Everyone is excited and surprised,” first-year Bernalillo coach Brandon Gilliard said. “A 6 seed is a little better than what we were expecting. Our entire squad was preparing to travel.”
Defending champ Sandia Prep lost a tiebreaker to Bernalillo for the District 5-4A title. The Sundevils, who have an extremely young roster, are seeded 12th.
The Spartans began this season with a new coach and a roster that largely was untested at the varsity level.
“It’s a scrappy team that really fights,” Gilliard said. “Every game is kind of a close battle.”
The No. 1 seed is Hope Christian, with its pitch-by-committee approach that has worked so well for the 19-7 Huskies this season.