It’s not football: Rams 20, Storm 13

RIO RANCHO — Who’s on first? is a good question after the District 1-5A softball season reached its midpoint on Tax Day, April 15.

Rio Rancho had just outlasted visiting Cleveland in a game at Paul Kohman Field that went nearly three hours.

That kept the Rams in a three-way tie with Cibola and Piedra Vista, all 4-1 at the halfway mark. But who’s really “on” first: The Rams beat Cibola, Cibola beat Piedra Vista and Piedra Vista walloped the Rams. Each won on Friday, so there was still a deadlock with the top three each at 5-1 in district play.

The Storm (2-4 in 1-5A and 9-13 after a loss Friday at Cibola), were alone in fourth, followed by Farmington and — surprisingly — Volcano Vista (0-6, 8-13).

Of course, there are a few more weeks to go before the state softball tournament is underway in early May.

Rams 20, Storm 13Usually a team that scores a dozen runs in one inning turns out to be the winner.

Such was the case on April 15, but it took longer than it should have as the Rams couldn’t close it out via the 15-run mercy rule in the third inning, which ended with Cleveland facing a daunting 16-3 deficit. A five-run fifth and a four-run sixth kept the Storm alive, as did far too many walks issued by Rams’ lefty pitcher Delysia Valdez.

And, oddly it may seem to those familiar with Rams softball and the only head coach in program history, Paul Kohman, he didn’t make a single trip to the circle the entire game.

“I got a plan and we’re working on it,” he said slyly late in the contest.

The Storm threatened again in their final at-bats, with a walk and a single before Valdez fanned two hitters and got the final out on a fly ball. It was reminiscent of her earlier work — a three-up, three-down second; a walk and three outs in a row in the third; and two walks, two strikeouts and a groundout in the fourth.

The Rams seemed certain to end it early with that 12-run third, when 15 batters came to the plate, including senior second baseman Marissa Valdez, who hit a two-run homer to make it a 7-3 game and later a three-run shot to make it 16-3 lead. Jordyn Tenorio hit a grand slam, and Alivia Henderson, who led off the second with a homer, contributed a two-run double in the offensive explosion; Lilyrose Larrabee, who got the Rams’ scoring started with a two-run homer in the first and ended it with another two-run shot in the sixth, singled and scored twice in the third.

Danika Jaime and Heaven Guevara led CHS with two hits apiece. Valdez walked 13 batters, and six of them came around to score, explaining almost half of the Storm’s runs.

It was a 180-degree turn from the Rams’ previous game, a 21-5 loss to visiting Piedra Vista, which ended a five-game winning streak. Marissa Valdez was hitless in that game; Aleah Alvarado and Olivia Chavez each had two hits for the Rams; Alvarado drove in three runs and Destiny Gonzales had two RBIs.

“Wish we could’ve had some of them hits the other night,” Kohman said. “We couldn’t do anything right that night … We were down 15-0 going into the bottom of the third inning; we had to score just to get to the fourth inning.

“We were in first place before that. We control whatever happens the rest of the way.”

In addition to the district games, the Rams have a big game with powerful No. 2 La Cueva at Paul Kohman Field on April 30, when that outcome could help the Rams’ seed in the playoff bracket.

Marissa Valdez, a senior, was asked about her big night — in light of hitting her homers on the first pitch from a new reliever each time.

“I just saw the pitch that I wanted and I took it (out of the park),” she said, crediting the stretch of Henderson at first for a throw she made from her knees after stopping a hot grounder in the sixth.

That was a great stop for the second baseman. Her next softball stop, Valdez said, will be at Grayson College in Denison, Texas.

“I like the coaching staff and it just seemed like the best place,” she said.

Rams 14, Farmington 1On Friday, April 18, the Rams scored in all four innings they came to the plate, with the game ending early via the 10-run mercy rule.

RRHS (14-7, 5-1) scored five times in the first inning, three more in the second, a pair in the third and four in the fourth.

Two Scorpion (11-10-1, -5) errors compounded the damage; FSH managed only three hits in the lopsided affair.

Cibola 12, Storm 3Also on the 18th, down the hill at Cibola, the Storm (9-13, 2-4) scored first and were down by a run, 4-3, until the Cougars scored five runs in their half of the fifth, then added three more in the sixth to win.

BuntsThe Rams have two games this week: at Volcano Vista Tuesday, April 22, and home Friday, the 25th, to meet Cibola at 6 p.m. RRHS has three games the final week: at Piedra Vista on April 29, home vs. La Cueva at 4 p.m. the next day and at Cleveland at 4 p.m. May 2.

… The Storm also have two games last week in the Four Corners: at Farmington on April 22 and at Piedra Vista on Friday. The regular season ends May 2 with a game with the Rams at 4 p.m.; the Storm are also home at 4 p.m. April 29 to meet Volcano Vista.

… Former Rams slugger Kendra Levesque, who graduated RRHS in 2020, and is no longer playing at New Mexico State, was the Lone Star Conference’s Player of the Week after helping Lubbock Christian go 4-0; she was 6 for 8 with five RBIs that week, with a home run, and played solidly at first base.

… Ashley Archuleta, a member of the Cleveland Class of 2021, had a big game for the University of New Mexico Lobos on April 12, when she provided two key hits in a victory over Colorado State. At the time, she was leading the Mountain West Conference. Archuleta is in her senior season with the cherry and silver.