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Local teams battle on in softball tournament

Piedra Vista's Emma Lovato winds up to pitch during the opening game of the Class 5A state softball tournament, Friday, May 5, against Sandia at the Farmington Sports Complex. (Courtesy Piedra Vista High School)
State tournament action resumed this week in Albuquerque

FARMINGTON –The New Mexico Activities Association’s state softball tournament opened bracket play in Albuquerque this week, with several San Juan County teams in action.

Here’s a look at the latest scores and upcoming schedules for games in the state tournament.

Class 5A

Ayanna Stevens’ 2-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning broke a scoreless tie and gave Piedra Vista a 1-0 win over Alamogordo in the first round of championship bracket play in the Class 5A state softball tournament.

Stevens’ single allowed Brianna Sledge to score from second and gave the fourth-seeded Panthers the win and a chance to face top-seeded Centennial High School in a Thursday afternoon showdown.

The Panthers were limited to just four hits in the game, mainly because of the efforts of Tigers pitcher Sydney Lessentine, who struck out 15 and allowed only one walk over seven innings.

Alamogordo managed only four hits during the game, as they were stymied by senior pitcher Emma Lovato, who struck out 16 batters and walked three. Lovato, the leading pitcher in the state in terms of strikeouts, added to her season total on Thursday, bringing it to 242.

In the second game of the day for Piedra Vista, the top-seeded and unbeaten Centennial High School scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie and running their win streak to 29 consecutive games with a 3-1 win over the Panthers.

The Hawks struck first, with a solo home run off the bat of Amanda Valles in the fourth inning. The Panthers tied the game in the top of the sixth when Brookelynne Cadrain scored from third on an RBI single by Lovato.

Piedra Vista's Ayanna Stevens hits a ground ball up the middle in the bottom of the sixth inning of the first game in a doubleheader against Farmington on Friday, April 28, at the Farmington Sports Complex.

But Centennial regained all the momentum, led by Caprice Barela who had a pair of base hits and also performed well from the circle, striking out four and allowing only five hits over seven innings.

The victory means Centennial will face second-seeded Carlsbad at 11 a.m. Friday for a right to advance to the championship round. The Panthers will face off against Cibola in a consolation round game.

Meantime, the Farmington High softball team lost its first-round game by a final of 10-0 to La Cueva before being eliminated later Thursday by Cibola by a score of 8-5.

In the opening game for Farmington, the third-seeded Bears scored a run in the first, second and third innings before adding to their margin with a three-run fifth inning and a four-run sixth inning before the game was halted due to the run-rule.

The 11th-seeded Scorpions finish the season with a record of 18-11.

Class 4A

Aurora Green and Mykel Torres combined to score six times and drive in four runs as fourth-seeded St. Pius rolled to a 9-1 win over Bloomfield Thursday morning in the first round of the Class 4A state softball tournament at Cleveland High School.

The Sartans scored three times in the first and second innings and kept the Bobcats off the board as Desarae Chavez was dealing from the dish, striking out nine batters and allowing only three hits and three walks over seven innings of work.

Torres went 1-for-3 at the plate with a two-run home run in the first inning. Gabriella Casco also hit a home run for the Sartans, who advance to a second round matchup against top-ranked Artesia.

The Bobcats loss dropped the team into the consolation bracket where they staved off elimination Thursday afternoon with a 2-1 win over Bernalillo.

The game was knotted at 1-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning when Trinity McMurry scored on a steal of home while Caitlin Zepeda was at the plate.

Bobcats pitcher Gerilynn Delegarito finished the job, getting through the top half of the seventh inning, completing a solid outing in which she struck out 10 batters while allowing only three hits and four walks.

Bloomfield will be in action at 9 a.m. Friday against Gallup, who lost their first round game Thursday against Silver by a final score of 8-2 after winning the play-in game by a score of 16-0 against Deming.

Class 3A

The Navajo Prep softball season ended Wednesday night at Cleveland High School after the Eagles dropped their consolation game by a final of 6-5 to West Las Vegas.

The Eagles, which came into the Class 3A tournament as the five-seed, opened up bracket play Wednesday morning with a 17-2 romp over district rival and 12th-seeded Zuni.

That would prove to be Navajo Prep’s last win of the day, and of the season. The Eagles faced fourth-seeded Cobre Wednedsday afternoon and were handed their first loss of the postseason by a final of 12-2.

The Indians were led by Emma Heredia, who drove in three runs while going 2-for-2 at the plate with a triple and a pair of walks. Analisa Tovar scored three times for Cobre, while Heredia and Angelique Garcia each scored a pair of runs.

Freshman pitcher Bella Saiz dominated from the circle, striking out 13 Eagles hitters over five innings, scattering just three hits and four walks.

The loss dropped Navajo Prep into the consolation bracket against West Las Vegas. Cobre has a showdown Thursday morning against last year’s state Class 3A runner-up and top-ranked Santa Fe Indian School.

Navajo Prep’s season comes to an end with a record of 19-8 (10-0 District 1-3A).