Inside Las Cruces softball's marathon playoffs day, Bulldawgs nearly reach state title
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RIO RANCHO — Las Cruces came prepared for a long day, and that's exactly what it had in the 5A State softball playoffs here on May 16.
It wasn't pretty in the end, but the 10th-seeded Bulldawgs (20-11) fought their way through the consolation bracket and pulled off a pair of upsets before running out of gas in an 18-2 run-rule loss to 2nd-seeded La Cueva (27-4) that ended their season one game short of a championship appearance.
The Bears, who beat Las Cruces in the first round of the double-elimination event's championship bracket on May 10, led just 4-2 after four innings on Friday before the Bulldawgs wore down. La Cueva scored four runs in the fifth, then got a pair of home runs during a marathon 10-run sixth inning and ended the game after the bottom of the inning via the 10-run rule.
"This team was tired," La Cueva coach Ron Romero said of the Bulldawgs. "You could tell that they were worn out. They played three games today, and that made a big difference. They had a good day today, but just had a long day."
First-year Las Cruces coach Edward Kriner said that the long day started with a 5 a.m. wake-up call before getting to V. Sue Cleveland High School at 7 a.m. for their fourth meeting this season with cross-town rival Mayfield, which started at 9 a.m.
The 5th-seeded Trojans (21-8) had beaten the Bulldawgs twice this season in a district series, but Las Cruces evened up the season series with a 7-1 victory to end Mayfield's season in the second round of the consolation bracket. Denae DiMatteo, Amaya Pinedo, Zaysha Hawkins and Kaia Renteria each had two hits for the Bulldawgs while Pinedo pitched five strong innings for the win.
Next was 3rd-seeded Cibola (24-7) in the consolation bracket's third round. Las Cruces jumped on the Cougars for three runs in the first inning, receiving a two-run triple from senior Renteria, adding two runs in the second and another run in both the third and fourth innings on the way to another 7-1 win.
"We were impressive," Kriner said after the game. "It was a good all-around effort."
The Cougars didn't score until getting a solo home run in the seventh and final inning to prevent pitcher Leah Pacheco from tossing a complete game shutout. Las Cruces had RBI singles from Erica Silva, Hawkins, Pacheco and Renteria while standout senior shortstop Adriana Peña scored twice and was stellar in the field, as she was throughout the day, turning two double plays.
The Bulldawgs next game would be their last of the season, and it didn't start well.
La Cueva's Macee Santistevan laced a two-run triple to highlight a three-run first inning, then Las Cruces stranded two runners and had another thrown out at the plate in its half of the inning.
After La Cueva made it 4-0, the Bulldawgs got a double from DiMatteo and RBI singles from Tatyana Avila and Hawkins in the third inning to cut their deficit in half. But the Bears pounded out five hits for the four runs in the fifth inning, then made it a blowout with their big sixth inning.
Genesis Jaramillo and La Cueva pitcher Liliana Montoya each hit opposite-field home runs over the right field fence to highlight the uprising. The Bulldawgs used four pitchers in the inning, which finally ended when Romero called off the onslaught with two outs and sent his team back in the field to play defense.
Las Cruces was set down in order during the bottom of the sixth to end its season.
"It's tough, but I'm not heartbroken," Peña said after a long team meeting following the game. "We started off in 10th place and worked all the way up to third, playing three games in one day. I'm proud of what we did."
Renteria, who will play at Luna Community College in Las Vegas, NM, next season, said, "Honestly, we just wanted to go into today by going out and playing ball. We did that."
Kriner said he wasn't just proud of his team for battling through the day, which didn't end until 4:30 p.m., but for its season as well.
"I think this team won just eight games last season," Kriner said. "So we built a foundation. We turned it around this year."
Recapping Las Cruces softball's day
Second round of consolation bracket: No. 10 Las Cruces 7, No. 5 Mayfield 1
Third round of consolation bracket: No. 3 Cibola 1, No. 10 Las Cruces 7
Fourth round of consolation bracket: No. 2 La Cueva 18, No. 10 Las Cruces 2 (in six innings)
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NMAA softball playoffs: Inside Las Cruces' 3 playoff games in 1 day
