In high school baseball, the end of the season often becomes an arms race—and the team with the deepest pitching staff usually has the edge. As the Class 5A state tournament kicks off Thursday, the question on everyone's mind is simple: Who has the firepower to survive this three-day sprint?
The bracket is loaded with elite starters and strong No. 2 arms, but the third-seeded La Cueva Bears hold a weapon no one else can match: three bonafide aces, each signed to play Division I baseball. That's practically unheard of in New Mexico high school history.
Meet the trio: Dylan Blomker (LSU), Everett Burdett (Oregon State), and Luke Feist (New Mexico). Two are bound for powerhouse programs, while Feist will stay home to pitch for the Lobos. Together, they give the Bears nearly 19 feet of gifted right-handed pitching and a combined 21 wins this season.
"It's awesome to be a part of this group," Burdett said. "We've been pushing each other for four years—every practice, every game, every offseason. It's cool to have these guys to work with."
Coach Gerard Pineda sees the unique dynamic clearly: "These guys each have a different piece to them. They approach the art of pitching a little differently, and that makes them a really nice group to have."
Blomker, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound righty who could turn pro before summer, has anchored La Cueva's biggest games. He's 8-0 with a 1.73 ERA, a 0.82 WHIP, and 104 strikeouts in just 48.2 innings—thanks to a fastball that sits 90-94 mph and a devastating slider.
Burdett (6-2, 195) mirrors that dominance: 8-0, a 0.89 ERA, and a 0.99 WHIP, allowing only five earned runs in nearly 40 innings. And Feist (6-2, 190)—who would be the ace at almost any other school—is 5-1 with a 1.48 ERA, 53 strikeouts, and just seven walks in 33 innings. His only loss came to Cleveland, a potential semifinal opponent on Friday.
"It's nice to have that feedback—pitch grips, pitch shapes, what the hitter is seeing," Burdett added. "We're always helping each other get better."
As the state tournament begins, La Cueva's arsenal stands alone. In a sport where pitching wins championships, the Bears have three of the best in the state—and that's a formula that's hard to beat.