Breaking News
Home / Sports News / St. Michael’s gains today’s semifinals at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex as the Lady Horsemen defeated Pojoaque Valley, 11-8, in softball Thursday, and in baseball the Horsemen overwhelmed Wingate, 30-3, in five innings

St. Michael’s gains today’s semifinals at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex as the Lady Horsemen defeated Pojoaque Valley, 11-8, in softball Thursday, and in baseball the Horsemen overwhelmed Wingate, 30-3, in five innings

By Arnie Leshin 
Arnie Leshin

It was chilly, it was raining, it was windy, it was just plain nasty, but despite this, all four games of the annual Roseanne Noedel Memorial softball tournament at St. Michael’s were played Thursday.

 

It was the same elements on the other end of the campus of the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex, but here, too, all four of the first round games of the annual Jim Pierce Memorial baseball tournament were played.

 

Both the Lady Horsemen and Horseman came out of this on the winning side, new head coach Joe Alvarez’ was delighted to see his host team hitting the ball, something it lacked the past two seasons under then-head coach Billy Purdue. It won but three times last year, but is now 2-1 and will be out to match last year’s total wins in today’s 4 p.m. semifinals against Albuquerque Academy.

 

In the 11-8 triumph over Pojoaque Valley, there were some misplayed balls and other miscues, but St. Michael’s went in front 4-0 after one inning only to have the Elkettes come within 4-3 and then tie the score at 6-6 in the fifth frame. Pojoaque then scored twice more in the top of the sixth and led 8-7.

 

But senior Michelle Salazar answered back with a 2-run double to deep left field in the sixth to break the 8-8 deadlock, and senior pitcher a Glidewell followed a lead-off walk by retiring the last threebatters in the seventh. It was her lead-off triple that paved the way in sixth. Athena Archuleta singled her home and Michelle Salazar followed with the big hit.

 

In the other games, Bernalillo (4-1) gained the noon semis against West Las Vegas by handing Raton a 6-1 loss in the Tiger opener.

 

Meanwhile, the undefeated Dons came back from 5-1 deficit against Capital by scoring seven times in the fifth after two were out, and maintaining the lead with an 11-8 final to put the Jaguars at 2-3.

 

Academy gained the semifinals by coming away with a 5-3 win over Espanola Valley in eight innings to improve to 4-3 when Alix Hamon’s 2-run home run in the bottom of the eighth erased a 3-2 gap and gained the victory. The Sundevils dropped to 3-2.

. . . In the baseball across the way, the Horsemen trounced Wingate, 30-3, to even their mark at 3-3. The onslaught began with six runs in the opening stanza and three more in the second. In the third, the game got completely out of hand with a 14-run inning on nine hits and by batting around twice.

 

St. Michael’s head coach Augie Ruiz emptied his bench as his team pieced together 20 errors, while Wingate helped along with 10 errors. The game was halted by the 10-run mercy rule after Wingate batted in the top of the fifth.

 

The Horsemen now meet up with defending Pierce champion Santa Fe High in the 4 p.m. semis. The Demons (5-4) mounted a comeback after trailing Albuquerque Sandia Prep 5-1 after five frames. But back came Santa Fe High with one run in the sixth and followed it up with six more runs in the                                               seventh for an 8-5 victory,

 

The Demons have won their last three, outscoring their opponents 32-9. Manny Martinez got the pitching win over Sandia Prep and is now 3-1.

 

The other semis pairs Portales (1-2) with Bernalillo. The Rams edged Cobre, 10-9, and the Spartans (4-1) turned back Raton, 4-2. They are scheduled to play at 1:30 p.m.

Check Also

All seven rounds of the 3-day NFL College Football Draft went smoothly

By Arnie Leshin  If anyone expected the Cincinnati Bengals to by pass Joe Burrow with …