St. Pius shuts out Belen in tourney opener
No matter the coach, Sartans keep on rolling
In a way, this has been a traditional St. Pius baseball season.
In another, it has been a season of upheaval.
“They know they have one job — to play baseball,” said Sartans interim coach Matt McCoy.
St. Pius changed coaches in midseason, but the quality of its baseball — which is usually stout, anyway — hasn’t diminished since the change. The third-seeded Sartans (17-9) put up cinco runs on Cinco de Mayo and beat visiting Belen 5-0 in the first game of their best-of-three Class 5A playoff series Friday afternoon.
Junior southpaw Ryan McGaha (6-3)
and senior righty Mitch Buffett, who recorded the last two outs, combined on a three-hitter for St. Pius. The series resumes between the District 5-5A rivals with Game 2 at 10 a.m. today.
St. Pius has won nine straight, most of them since the school removed longtime head coach Marc Hilton. It is unknown whether Hilton, who was in his 17th season and who has won two state championships (2003, 2013) with St. Pius, was suspended or fired. Or possibly both.
Neither principal Barbara M. Rothweiler nor athletic director Jim Cook will comment, and Hilton, too, is not returning messages.
But McCoy has the Sartans cruising along. He has coached St. Pius the last eight games.
“At the end of the day,” said St. Pius senior Isaiah Chavez, who delivered a clutch two-RBI single Friday in the fifth inning that gave the Sartans a 3-0 cushion, “no matter who’s our coach, we’re brothers. We’re gonna go out there and play our game.”
St. Pius put up four of its five runs in the fifth. Defensively, the Sartans turned a pair of double plays, including a fly ball/ throw out at the plate, initiated by freshman right fielder Ryan Sanchez, when the game was scoreless in the third inning.
McGaha was rarely in trouble, and when he was, he smoothly extracted himself.
“He’s just a horse on the mound,” said McCoy. “Every single outing we get from him is quality.”
The Sartans know they are riding a hot hand as the season reaches its apex.
“We’re just coming together as a team right now,” said McGaha. “When we need it the most.”
— James Yodice No. 4 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY 10, No. 13 GRANTS 2:
At Academy, Cameron Russell pitched a complete-game fourhitter, and Markus Parrish had three hits and two RBIs to lead the Chargers (20-7) in Game 1.
Class 6A
No. 8 RIO RANCHO 7, No. 9 ELDORADO 6:
At Rio Rancho, senior first baseman Tariq Levesque drove the first pitch he saw from reliever Keith Alvarado for an RBI groundrule double in the bottom of the sixth, scoring Kevin Pietzrak with the go-ahead run.
Until then, starter Brandon Petrino (3-4) had held the Rams (19-8) in check after Rio Rancho scored two runs apiece in each of the first three innings. But Eldorado (17-8) chased Rio Rancho ace Bohdi Bolen in the fifth, when it scored a run to close within 6-5. The Eagles then tied the contest when Kobe Parra came around to score on Ram second baseman Gunner Gouldsmith’s throwing error.
The Rams benefited from the Eagles’ fourth error of the game, an errant pickoff attempt by Petrino, which allowed Garrett Gouldsmiith, who had walked with one out in the sixth, to get to third base.
Had he not advanced, Levesque’s double would have kept him at third base.
— Gary Herron No. 1 LA CUEVA 2, No. 16 OÑATE 0:
At La Cueva, Ryan Johnson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning as the Bears (24-1) fought off the stingy Knights (10-15).
Senior right-hander Jonathan Stroman (8-0) pitched a complete-game three-hitter, striking out six for La Cueva, which has won 24 straight and recently entered the Baseball America rankings at No. 17 in the country.
No. 2 CLEVELAND 8, No. 15 MAYFIELD 0:
In Rio Rancho, senior Ezra Acosta (9-0) tossed a complete-game five-hitter, and the Storm (21-6) blew the game open with five runs in the third.
In the third, Robert Healy had an RBI single, his second of the game, with Jack Murano adding a two-run triple and Damian Admire an RBI double. Also, the Trojans (14-12) walked home a run.
No. 3 PIEDRA VISTA 2, No. 14 ATRISCO HERITAGE 1:
In Farmington, Chase Silseth’s two-out RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth broke a 1-1 tie and propelled the Panthers (207) over the Jaguars (16-9). Silseth (6-2) also pitched a complete game, striking out nine Atrisco batters.
No. 13 VALLEY 1, No. 4 HOBBS 0 (10):
Sophomore Nolan Kuhn drove in the winning run with a two-out, RBI single to left in the 10th, plating Ross Montoya — who had earlier doubled — with the game’s only run.
Valley senior lefty Daniel Romero-Martinez struck out 10 in eight innings of work for the Vikings (17-8). Daniel Garcia got the win. He was the second reliever and shut down Hobbs (17-10) in the bottom of the 10th.
No. 5 CARLSBAD 2, No. 12 ALBUQUERQUE HIGH 0:
Cavemen senior lefty Trevor Rogers (10-0) threw a complete-game one-hitter, striking out 12 as Carlsbad (20-7) beat the Bulldogs (14-11).
The first report was that Rogers had thrown a no-hitter. But a play that was initially ruled an error was changed late Friday night to an infield hit.
Rogers has 127 strikeouts in 59 innings and lowered his ERA to 0.36. He faced only one batter over the minimum (22) on Friday.
AHS withheld its ace, Robby Herrera, who will start Game 2.
No. 7 VOLCANO VISTA 6, No. 10 LAS CRUCES 5:
Evan Ruiz’s sacrifice fly scored Hayden Peacock with the winning run, and the Hawks (14-11), who once trailed 5-0, scored three in the bottom of the seventh to walk off the Bulldawgs (16-9).
Luke Baca’s RBI double cut the deficit in the seventh to 5-4. A potential game-ending double-play ground ball was botched by Las Cruces moments later as the tying run scored for Volcano Vista.
Josiah Armijo (8-4) went the distance for the Hawks, surviving a five-run second, highlighted by Bernie Macias’ 3-run homer. Volcano Vista has won 17 straight games in the first round.
ALSO: No. 6 seed Centennial (18-8) held off No. 11 Clovis late, winning 6-5. Class 4A No. 1 HOPE CHRISTIAN 16, No. 16 EAST MOUNTAIN 2 (5):
The Huskies scored 12 runs in the first two innings and routed the Timberwolves. Estevan De La O (8-0) pitched four innings for the Huskies.
ALSO: Defending state champion Sandia Prep, seeded 12th, fell 8-4 Friday to No. 5 Taos. … No. 11 Robertson blanked No. 6 Bernalillo 3-0. … No. 4 Silver defeated No. 13 Moriarty 6-2.