FARMINGTON – The Piedra Vista High School baseball team used a high-powered offensive display to dismantle Clovis on Saturday, riding a seven-run first inning to an 18-8 victory at Ricketts Park.
The win closes out the first round best-of-three game series between the Panthers and the Wildcats, advancing the No. 4 seeded Piedra Vista into the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state baseball tournament and a Thursday clash against No. 12 Las Cruces.
Piedra Vista’s offense produced a total of 29 runs, allowing just nine over 11 innings of work this past weekend. The Panthers (24-4) have won three in a row while Clovis sees their season come to a halt with a final record of 13-15.
In Saturday’s win, the Panthers wasted no time establishing dominance. Kyle Murphy ignited the scoring in the bottom of the first with an RBI double to center field. Before the Wildcats could record their first out, Piedra Vista had already pushed five runs across, highlighted by a two-RBI single from JW Bayless.
The early onslaught continued into the second and third frames. Alejandro Hernandez belted a two-run double in the second, and Eliyas Barton followed with one of his four hits on the day to push the lead to 10-0. By the end of the third inning, a Murphy RBI double and another Barton extra-base hit extended the cushion to 13-0.
Clovis finally found life in the top of the fourth, staging a gritty eight-run rally to tighten the contest. Tyler Ashby drove in two with a fly-ball double, followed by a two-RBI single from Aidan Romero. The comeback effort was punctuated by Reid Adams, who launched a two-run home run to right field to cut the deficit to 13-8.
However, the Panthers’ bullpen settled in, and the offense went back to work to prevent any further drama. Bayless added an RBI single in the fifth, and Piedra Vista effectively ended the contest in the sixth.
Las Cruces, seeded 12th in the Class 5A tournament, advanced to the second round after a pair of shutout wins over fifth-seeded Centennial. The Bulldawgs (16-12) overall finished fourth in District 3-5A this season.
The Panthers haven’t faced Las Cruces since the two teams split a doubleheader during the 2021 season. Thursday’s contest is slated for 7 p.m. at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex. The winner advances to the Class 5A semifinals against either top-seeded Rio Rancho or No. 8 Mayfield.
Piedra Vista High baseball team made a rousing statement Friday in the opening game of the series against Clovis, beating the Wildcats 11-1.
Starting pitcher Bayless continued to overwhelm opposing batters. In Friday’s five-inning contest, Bayless struck out four, walked one and allowed one run on four hits.
In his previous outing, a 6-0 win over Farmington to close the regular season, Bayless fanned 12 batters and surrendered only four hits.
“Every time he takes the mound, we expect to win – that’s how good he is,” Piedra Vista head coach Jeff Kiraly said. “He’s one of the best, if not the best, pitchers I’ve ever coached.”
Bayless was aided by an opportunistic offense that took advantage of four Clovis errors.
Leadoff hitter Courtney had two hits and scored twice. He ignited the Panthers in the bottom of the first inning with a triple to right field. On the play, the throw from Wildcats second baseman Sandro Cordova sailed over the head of third baseman Conrad Sepulbeda, allowing Courtney to score for an early 1-0 lead.
Piedra Vista added another run in the first after Barton tripled to drive in Murphy, who had reached on a walk from Clovis starter Zoriel Rodriguez.
The Panthers added three more runs in the bottom of the second, sending nine batters to the plate. Courtney, Kade Aragon and Murphy each recorded RBIs in the frame.
Trailing 5-0, Clovis scored its lone run in the top of the third when Romero singled to score Colton Steven.
Piedra Vista answered with two runs in the bottom of the third to extend the lead to 7-1. Alexis Hernandez singled to lead off the inning, advanced to third on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Courtney. Tyler Swarts later scored on a single by Aragon.
Rodriguez exited in the bottom of the fourth after loading the bases. Reliever Seth Castro took over, but the damage was done; Rodriguez finished with 3 1/3 innings pitched, 102 pitches, six walks and two strikeouts.
The Panthers tacked on four runs in the fourth. Bayless led off the frame with a single, and courtesy runner Tony Reynolds scored on another Courtney sacrifice fly. Hernandez, Amasi Griego and Swarts also crossed the plate to push the lead to 10.
Piedra Vista ended the game in the fifth via the 10-run rule, turning a double play off the bat of Ashby to secure the victory.