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Storm stop Los Lunas comeback, move into semis
Cleveland catcher Owen Bishop awaits a throw, too late to nab this Los Lunas base runner in the fifth inning. Fortunately for the Storm, it was the Tigers’ final run in the 7-6 Cleveland win.
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ALBUQUERQUE — What we learned Thursday evening at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness sports complex in northwest Albuquerque: You can’t take any team lightly.
Evidence: Cleveland High School’s 7-6 victory over Los Lunas.
Cleveland High School baseball coach Shane Shallenberger and his players knew that going into their Class 5A quarterfinal, and even after the Storm (23-6) scored the game’s first seven runs and starting pitcher Jarren Villa retired the first nine batters he faced, the Storm knew they needed a dozen more outs.
That took longer than their fans hoped, as the first four Tigers in the fourth inning got hits, and by the time Villa got the final out on a strikeout, it was then a 7-4 Storm lead.
The Tigers (19-11) weren’t done, using a walk, a double and an RBI single — all after Villa got the first two fifth-inning batters out — and it was a precarious 7-6 Storm lead.
Since their four-run outburst in the second inning, the Storm bats were pretty quiet, with only Jaden Davis getting as far as third base. Once the Storm chased starter Matthew Castillo in the second inning, reliever J.J. Utash — one of three Utash brothers in the lineup — limited Cleveland to just three hits over the final five frames.
Joseph Stevenson relieved Villa in the sixth and allowed only an infield single to close out the win and earn a save.
Davis led the Storm attack, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Villa was 2 for 3; Brandon Hennessy was 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
“Los Lunas just started grinding it out,” Shallenberger said of his team’s disappearing advantage. “They kept chipping away, put bats on balls and we had an inning where we made mistakes and they capitalized.
“They got the momentum back, and we had to find a way to stop it.”
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The victory sent the No. 3 Storm into a 6:30 p.m. Friday game at Santa Ana Star Field (aka Lobo Field) vs. No. 2 Rio Rancho, with the winner advancing into Saturday’s 5A championship game, also at Santa Ana Star Field at 6:30 p.m.
In Friday’s other semifinal, No. 1 La Cueva (25-3) meets No. 4 Organ Mountain (24-5) at 3:30 p.m. at Santa Ana Star Field.
La Cueva beat Eldorado 6-0 and Organ Mountain topped Sandia 5-3 in quarterfinal games from the upper half of the bracket. In the other bottom-half quarterfinal, Rio Rancho beat Carlsbad 6-5.
In three meetings this season, the Rams have beaten the Storm twice, but CHS’s 12-2 win at Rio Rancho on April 30 paved the way for the district title.
