Rejuvenated Cibola tops Valley
Lewis has 4-hitter as Cougars win 5-4
It’s true, the Cibola High School baseball team is having a good week.
But it’s more than that — the Cougars are having a nice season, one that has gone largely unnoticed.
Cibola pushed home the tie-breaking run midway through Thursday afternoon’s game at Valley, and the Cougars edged the Vikings 5-4 for their ninth win of the season.
“The kids are coming along,” Cibola coach Ramon Gonzales said. “We’re pretty much where we want to be. The kids are understanding how this game is played, and learning how to grind things out. And that will be a big thing in our district.”
This game was sandwiched between the Cougars’ District 1-6A opener on Tuesday, an 8-4 win for Cibola over Volcano Vista, and a Saturday afternoon visit from southern power Carlsbad.
University of New Mexico signee Jensen Lewis (2-1), who is new to the position, pitched a complete-game four-hitter for Cibola (9-5-1), and Mikey Siederman scored the goahead run on a fielder’s choice ground ball in the top of the fourth to break a 4-4 tie.
While most of the talk in Cibola’s district has focused on Rio Rancho, Volcano Vista and Cleveland, Gonzales believes it would be dangerous to sleep on his group.
“I know in our district, we’re not under the radar,” he said. “But around the state? Definitely. Looking at our record, some people might be surprised by that.”
Valley (5-9-1) had early leads of 3-0 and 4-1 on Thursday. Michael Barboa clubbed a two-run homer down the left-field line in the bottom of the first as the Vikings led 3-0.
“He’s still learning,” Gonzales said. “That first inning, maybe he didn’t have it, but he settled in and found something extra.”
The teams traded runs in the second inning. The Cougars pulled even on Jack White’s RBI single in the top of the third.
Cibola will play Carlsbad on Saturday after the Cavemen face La Cueva. That game starts at 10 a.m. at Cibola.
— James Yodice RIO GRANDE 6, ST. PIUS 1: At St. Pius, Ravens’ senior pitcher Matthew Sanchez (4-2) pitched a 2-hitter and struck out six in Rio Grande’s nondistrict victory.
Ever Muñoz had three hits, including a double, and scored two runs for Rio Grande (9-5).
Softball
VOLCANO VISTA 6, RIO
RANCHO 3: At Volcano Vista, Lauren Wilmert, Angelica Lujan and Samantha Trujillo all hit home runs for the Hawks (13-2, 2-0) in a District 1-6A victory over the Rams (11-8, 1-1). Venessa Gallegos scored all three Rio Rancho runs and swiped three bases.