The opening weekend of the Class 5A baseball playoffs delivered a clear message: pitching wins championships. And nobody delivered that message louder than the 12th-seeded Las Cruces Bulldawgs.
For the second straight day, Las Cruces silenced the bats of No. 5 Centennial, blanking the Hawks 2-0 on Saturday to punch their ticket to next week's quarterfinals in Albuquerque. Armando Gonzalez was the star of the show, spinning a three-hit complete game while his offense did just enough, pushing both runs across in the fifth inning.
The Bulldawgs weren't the only ones moving on. The quarterfinal bracket is set, and it's packed with firepower. Thursday's action at Santa Ana Star Field kicks off with No. 1 Rio Rancho (23-5) taking on No. 8 Mayfield at 4 p.m., followed by No. 2 Cleveland against No. 7 Eldorado at 7 p.m. Over at the Riordan Complex, No. 3 La Cueva faces No. 6 Carlsbad at 4 p.m., and Las Cruces battles No. 6 Piedra Vista at 7 p.m.
The top-seeded Rams showed why they're the team to beat, spotting Atrisco Heritage two runs before exploding for a 12-2 mercy-rule win in five innings. Wyatt Tinker crushed a home run and drove in three to lead the charge.
Down the road, Cleveland (25-3) flexed its muscles with an 8-1 win over Sandia. The Storm put up a four-spot in the first inning, and that was all Treven Polanco needed. He tossed five solid innings while Peyton Noel provided the pop with two doubles and two RBIs.
La Cueva (25-3) was simply dominant, outscoring Hobbs 30-2 over two games. Saturday's 13-1 romp featured a bases-clearing double from Dylan Blomker in the first inning and 11 strikeouts from Everett Burdett. Mikey McMullan added three RBIs for good measure.
Piedra Vista (24-4) swung the bats like a team on a mission, racking up 20 hits in an 18-8 demolition of Clovis. Kyle Murphy was unstoppable, going 4-for-4 with five runs scored as the Panthers put the game away with a seven-run first inning.
Carlsbad (18-10) showed its grit with a come-from-behind 4-3 thriller over Organ Mountain. EZ Lopez and Ricardo Herrera delivered clutch RBI hits in the fourth inning to put the Cavemen ahead for good.
Eldorado (24-4) brought the power, launching four home runs in a 16-2 beatdown of Rio Grande. Sully Wilson went deep twice, Sebastian Mestes homered and drove in four, and Maddox Gonzales also went yard with three RBIs. The Eagles finished with 20 hits and jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first.
Mayfield (20-7-1) got a gem from Brad Springer, who tossed a one-hit complete game with seven strikeouts in a 10-0 shutout of Los Lunas. Aden Garcia did the damage at the plate with a double and four RBIs.
And in Class 4A, ninth-seeded St. Pius (15-12) continued its Cinderella run with another stunning victory, proving that in playoff baseball, anything can happen when the pressure is on.