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Rams, Storm head south for first round of state softball
Rio Rancho Public Schools Executive Director of Athletics Todd Resch, left, and Cleveland High Athletic Director Matt Martinez had a good view of Rio Rancho catcher Brie Kissinger’s attempt to catch a foul ball in the Rams’ 16-1 victory over visiting Cleveland in their District 1-5A contest on April 30. Kissinger was 3 for 3 with 4 RBIs in her team’s victory. The Storm managed just two hits in the loss, as Kayla Abeyta and Amanda McKinley each had a double. Earlier that afternoon, Resch and Martinez watched the Cleveland baseball team 10-run the Rams for a split of the diamond duels.
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The NMMA State Softball Championships field is set for Class 5A, and both City of Vision teams hit the road Friday, heading down I-25 for their first-round contests.
The Rio Rancho Rams were seeded 10th and travel to Las Cruces to meet No. 7 Mayfield (16-10). The Cleveland Storm were seeded 16th and will be on their way to face No. 1 Alamogordo (23-3).
A four-run fourth inning on May 3 gave Rio Rancho the lead to keep, and their 12-6 victory at Volcano Vista gave the Rams second place in District 1-5A.
The Rams (13-13, 6-2) were tied with Cibola for the top spot, but the Cougars beat the Rams twice to claim the district title.
The Cleveland Storm (10-16) finished fourth in District 1-5A and one of just two teams headed to the 16-team tournament with a losing record. Although the Storm were one of the teams to beat Cibola, they were also the only team to lose to Atrisco Heritage Academy, which they did in a 4-1 setback at the Shock Yards on May 3.
Here are the other first-round contests this week: No. 15 Volcano Vista (11-14) is at No. 2 La Cueva (22-4), No. 14 Sandia (17-9) is at No. 3 Centennial (24-2), No. 13 Organ Mountain (14-12) visits No. 4 Hobbs (21-5), No. 12 Farmington is at No. 5 Cibola (17-9), No. 11 Los Lunas (17-7) heads to No. 6 Carlsbad (17-9), and No. 9 Albuquerque High (20-6) visits No. 8 Piedra Vista (16-10).
Carlsbad has won the 5A title the past two seasons, after finishing second to Cleveland in 2021 and second to Rio Rancho in 2019. There was no state tournament in 2020 because of COVID-19.
