8th-grader tosses a no-hitter
Tigers’ coach Quintana says Jalen Montaño ‘feels like he belongs’
There was a feeling around the Taos High School baseball program that young Jalen Montaño was destined for big things.
But, since he is an eighth-grader, nobody thought it would be this soon.
“We had been following him through middle school,” Tigers coach Miguel Quintana said. “And when he came up to tryouts, we knew it was going to be for JV. But obviously he’s not going to see any JV time this year.”
Montaño never thought he would he would be donning a Tigers varsity uniform yet, either.
“I thought I would be on JV,” he said. “I was kind of amazed. I can’t even explain it. It was amazing.”
As if there were any doubt about the matter, Montaño chucked a fiveinning, mercy-rule no-hitter against Raton last weekend.
“This is the first time I’ve been involved in a no-hitter and I’ve been coaching here 10 years,” Quintana said.
The no-no, which included two walks on full counts, came in the consolation championship of the Jim Pierce Memorial Tournament at St. Michael’s.
“We just had confidence in him,” Quintana said. “He doesn’t play like an eighth-grader. He feels like he belongs.”
Indeed, he’s also hitting the ball well, clubbing at a .367 clip that is forcing Quintana to find a spot for him in the lineup when he’s not on the hill.
“He’s going to make Taos Tigers baseball competitive as far as competing for spots,” the coach said. “… He’s a middle infielder; we’re pretty solid in the middle infield already, but we have to find a spot a in the lineup for him.”
As for the no-hitter, it was Montaño’s second start of the season after a debut against Class 5A defending champion Carlsbad, when he was knocked around a bit but in general held his own.
The Raton result was as much a team effort as a no-hitter can be, Quintana said, since Montaño had only two strikeouts.
“I was throwing every pitch for them to hit it,” Montaño said. “I trusted the defense. They were pretty supportive of me. They would pick me up. They helped me a lot. Most of the action was through them.”
Counting Little League, it was his first no-hitter and it still seems a little unreal, he said, adding he was swarmed after the final out.
“They went up and jumped on me,” Montaño said of his teammates, who also gave him the silent treatment in the dugout as the game progressed.
Having a game like this, especially one in which everybody contributed to the outcome, should be a boost to the team, he added.
“I think it will make us more confident going into the next, future games,” Montaño said.
Being so young, he doesn’t blow hitters away yet, Quintana said.
“He’s primarily fastball, circle change and a curveball,” he said. “We don’t want him to have too much in his arsenal yet. He’s not very overpowering. He hits his spots. He lives where he needs to live.”
And for now, Quintana is quite happy he’s living in the Tigers lineup.
“This was amazing,” he said. “And it was team effort.”