RIO RANCHO – The race for the top spot in District 1-4A softball appears to be a good one, with Kirtland Central and Aztec coming off strong performances at the Kristen Griego Tournament last weekend.
Kirtland Central is ranked third in Class 4A according to Maxpreps, following a strong outing in the tournament, while Aztec came into the season following a district title last year and a strong run in the state tournament.
Aztec’s Kamora Henry did it all for Aztec on Friday, dominating from the circle and providing early spark at the plate to lead the Tigers to a 9-3 victory over La Cueva on the second day of action in the Kristen Griego Tournament.
Aztec wasted no time asserting dominance in the bottom of the first inning. After Cheyenne Yellow reached on a single and stole second, Henry launched a two-run home run to center field.
The Tigers’ offense erupted again in the third inning scoring five times. Following a double by Cami Lucio and a walk to Henry, Graciello Lovato provided the highlight of the afternoon. With two runners on, Lovato connected on a three-run blast, extending the Aztec lead to 7-0.
Henry was a force in the circle, racking up 10 strikeouts in a complete game victory. Through the first half of the season, Henry has recorded 69 strikeouts and is currently ranked in the top 10 in the state in that category.
Aztec added insurance runs in the fifth inning through RBI singles from Yellow and Lucio, effectively putting the game out of reach.
The Tigers opened the Griego tournament with a 5-3 win on Thursday over Carlsbad. Again, Henry led the charge with 10 strikeouts in the winning effort while Lovato drove in a pair of runs.
Lacey Parrish and Easton Myhre each recorded three hits and combined for four runs batted in as Kirtland Central softball jumped out to an early lead before securing a 9-8 victory over Hobbs on Friday morning.
The Broncos wasted no time jumping on the Eagles in the first inning. Following a groundout by Hailey Loyd that scored Myhre, Kirtland Central’s Cailyn Belin and Alyssah Etcitty recorded back-to-back RBI doubles to grab a 3-0 lead.
Kirtland Central added to that lead in the second inning thanks to a Myhre home run to left field, scoring Rory Benally. The Lady Broncos added another in the frame when Etcitty drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 6-1.
The lead grew to 9-1 in the third inning behind a two-RBI triple from Parrish, who later scored on a Belin RBI single.
The Eagles refused to go away quietly, chipping away at the deficit in the fourth and fifth innings, highlighted by a four-run fifth. A series of base hits from Addison Raulston, Abigail Zambrano and Mariah Zambrano brought the Eagles within three runs.
In the bottom of the sixth, Hobbs narrowed the margin to a single run. A sacrifice fly by Allison Garcia and an RBI single from Abigail Zambrano cut the Kirtland Central lead to 9-8.
Despite the late-inning pressure, the Broncos’ defense tightened up to preserve the win.
Benally finished with seven strikeouts, upping her total to 72 this season, making her one of the leaders in that category in the state.
Amelia Gomez delivered a decisive blow in the seventh inning and Kirtland Central withstood a late surge from Cleveland to secure a 6-5 victory on Friday.
The Broncos used a blend of timely hitting and long-ball power to overcome the Storm, highlighted by a three-run cushion built in the final frame that proved to be just enough.
With the game knotted at 2-2 in the top of the sixth, Rory Benally broke the deadlock with a solo home run to center field. Kirtland Central extended that lead in the seventh when Gomez – who finished the day with four RBIs – crushed a three-run home run to left field, scoring Kiana Tsosie and Angelique Denarend to make it 6-2.
Cleveland mounted a furious comeback attempt behind back-to-back solo home runs from Kaitlyn Joyner and Jazlyn Quiroz to center field.
The pressure intensified when Marisol Romero scored on a single that was compounded by an error in center field, cutting the lead to 6-5. However, the Lady Broncos managed to shut the door before the tying run could cross the plate.
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