West Mesa may be left out of state
Making the rounds on a Derby Saturday: Mustangs’ fate?
One of the most interesting questions for the New Mexico Activities Association’s baseball state selection and seeding committee on Sunday is how to deal with West Mesa.
The Mustangs and Manzano are the most likely candidates for the No. 16 slot in the 16-team field, and both can make a case that it should be them.
The Monarchs have an important win over Rio Rancho that certainly aids their cause.
The Mustangs beat Rio Grande, a victory that counts almost equally.
Both teams finished fourth in their district, so that’s a wash.
West Mesa will have a better overall record than Manzano. That helps.
Manzano beat West Mesa twice, however. That really hurts.
“We’re just trying to get over the hump and into the playoffs,” Mustangs coach Richard Cordova said.
Historically, the NMAA’s selection committee has not shown District 5-5A — West Mesa’s district — much love in playoff seeding. In any sport. This is another debit (a perceived one) for the Mustangs.
It is entirely possible that Manzano will get the last spot and carry a 10-game losing streak into state. This is the kind of thing that can happen when 75 percent of all the schools in a certain classification qualify for the postseason.
Going into today’s doubleheader with La Cueva, Manzano had lost eight in a row and had been shut out in four of its last five games — albeit in a district that has a better pedigree than West Mesa’s.
“Our district is tougher than people think,” Cordova said.
Ultimately, those two headto-head losses to Manzano — 4-2 in the metro tournament, and 5-4 in early April — could keep West Mesa on the outside when the field is announced Sunday.
“It’s bugging me,” Cordova said.
Those two losses linger with Cordova and his team. In the first loss, Cordova said, “I threw my No. 5 or No. 6 pitcher while they threw their No. 2.”
In the second loss, Cordova said, two West Mesa players had been suspended, and that proved to be pivotal.
“I know we’re the better team,” Cordova said.
But it’s out of his hands now, which no coach likes.
“I’m worried about it,” he said.
Regardless of how Sunday falls, the Mustangs certainly showed marked improvement from last season to this season.
After winning five games in 2012, West Mesa went 11-13 this season, and the Mustangs showed signs of real competitiveness against powers like Sandia and La Cueva.
Their name may not be called Sunday, but with a team so young, it seems like just a matter of time.
Sunday placements
I will have a column in Sunday’s Journal with my baseball projections for the playoffs, but let me offer some early thoughts.
As the regular season doesn’t end until today for Rio Rancho, Cleveland, Cibola and Volcano Vista, this is a best guess, but here’s how I see the 5A field falling into place for the 5A programs in
Rio West:
I have Volcano Vista in the No. 4 spot — assuming Sandia sweeps Eldorado today in District 2-5A. If Sandia splits with Eldorado, the Hawks should be the No. 3 seed.
The Sandia-Eldorado twinbill also could impact Rio Rancho. For the moment, I’ve got the Rams penciled in at No. 5, just behind Volcano Vista and just ahead of Las Cruces.
If Sandia slips, we could see the Hawks at No. 3 and the Rams at No. 4.
Cibola went a combined 4-0 against Valley and Cleveland, and also beat two district champions in Atrisco Heritage and Las Cruces. The Cougars, I believe, could go as high as No. 10 or No. 11, but I think it’ll be the 11th slot, just behind Hobbs.
Valley is hard team to peg; I’ve got the Vikings 14th, just behind Eldorado and Mayfield.
(Truthfully, Valley, Mayfield and Eldorado could go in any order in 12-14.)
I’ve got Cleveland in the No. 15 position. The Storm did beat La Cueva twice, but Cleveland is a fourthplace team in its district and the Storm went 0-2 against Valley.
As for West Mesa, well, I think the Mustangs deserve the No. 16, but I suspect the committee will take Manzano instead.
Here are my first-round projections as of today: No. 16 Manzano at No. 1 Carlsbad; No. 15 Cleveland at No. 2 La Cueva; No. 14 Valley at No. 3 Sandia; No. 13 Mayfield at No. 4 Volcano Vista; No. 12 Eldorado at No. 5 Rio Rancho; No. 11 Cibola at No. 6 Las Cruces; No. 10 Hobbs at No. 7 Atrisco Heritage; and No. 9 Oñate at No. 8 Rio Grande.
Let there be light
Work began this week at Cleveland High School to install light poles at the baseball stadium and CHS’ primary softball field.
The work will be finished in advance of the state tournaments, which begin later this month.
The revised playoff baseball schedule features several night games at Cleveland — one apiece at 7 p.m. on May 15 (Class 2A quarterfinal), May 16 (3A quarterfinal) and May 17 (4A semifinal) — which are significant insomuch as they will be the first night prep baseball games played in the city.
“We expect them to be through pretty quick,” Rio Rancho district athletic director Bruce Carver said.
Cleveland is a host site for state softball, but there are no night games scheduled this year, Carver said.
The school district, with the help of a bond that passed last spring, will be installing lights at five venues between now and the spring of 2015.
That also includes the primary softball field at Eagle Ridge Middle School (where Rio Rancho High plays), Rio Rancho High’s baseball field, and Rio Rancho’s soccer field.
The RRHS soccer field, plus Cleveland baseball and softball, were already set up to have lights.
The Rio Rancho baseball field and Eagle Ridge will require more ground work, Carver said.
One of the great benefits of having lights at Cleveland is that the Storm will be able to schedule a couple of night games next season. Cleveland would become the second high school in the metro area with lights, after Rio Grande.
Cleveland will run a test on the lights at both Cleveland fields on Monday night.