CLASS 5A BASEBALL
District 1-5A rules the roost as Piedra Vista and Cleveland advance to the state final
Championship game is 6:30 Saturday night at UNM
The Piedra Vista Panthers followed Murphy鈥檚 law 鈥� his right arm, anyway 鈥� into the Class 5A state baseball championship game.
Junior Kyle Murphy supplied the No. 4 playoff seed with a starting pitching performance to remember, shutting down top-seeded Rio Rancho for six innings and propelling the Panthers to a 4-2 semifinal victory Friday night at Lobo Field.
鈥淗e was really good,鈥� said Piedra Vista鈥檚 resident ace, lefty JW Bayless, speaking about Murphy. 鈥漈hat鈥檚 the best I鈥檝e ever seen him throw. We wouldn鈥檛 have won this game without him.鈥�
Piedra Vista (26-4) 鈥� which survived a seventh-inning scare from the Rams to advance 鈥� will face District 1-5A rival Cleveland (27-3) in Saturday鈥檚 6:30 p.m. final at Lobo Field. The Storm routed Carlsbad in the late semifinal.
The Panthers last reached the title game in 2018, when they were coached by current Carlsbad head coach Mike McGaha.
鈥淚鈥檓 just so excited, I鈥檓 at a loss for words,鈥� Piedra Vista coach Jeff Kiraly said. His team finished third in 1-5A, behind Rio Rancho and Cleveland.
Kiraly turned the tables a bit on PV鈥檚 District 1-5A rival Friday, sending out a pitcher largely unfamiliar to the Rams (24-6) in Murphy, who has primarily been called upon to throw out of the Panthers鈥� bullpen.
鈥淚 just felt like we had played Rio Rancho before and they saw Alexis (Hernandez, Piedra Vista鈥檚 regular No. 2 starter), and (Murphy) was a fresh look,鈥� Kiraly said. 鈥淎nd he did exactly what I hoped and thought he would do.鈥�
Murphy certainly delivered.
鈥淭hat was the longest and the best I鈥檝e thrown,鈥� he said. 鈥�... Mostly it was me coming out here knowing I could do it.鈥�
Piedra Vista put three runs up on Rio Rancho in the top of the second. A walk, a hit batsman and a RBI single by Bayless gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead, and they had runners at first and second. At the bottom of the order, the No 9 hitter, Zack Zweschper, swatted a two-RBI triple to left-center, as Zweschper ZZ topped the offering from Rio Rancho starter Richie Reiffenberger for a 3-0 lead.
Brayden Bustillos鈥� RBI double for the Rams in the bottom half made it 3-1, but the Panthers鈥� Mason Courtney drove home a run with a single in the fourth as Piedra Vista regained a three-run advantage.
Unlike Thursday, when Rio Rancho fell into a 4-1 hole but scrapped their way out of it en route to a 6-5, walkoff win over eighth-seeded Mayfield, Murphy 鈥� with some later help 鈥� kept the Rams at bay.
It wasn鈥檛 until the seventh that Murphy seemed to lose the plate, and it was here that Kiraly flipped the script again, bringing in Hernandez to close when Rio Rancho had shaved the deficit to 4-2 on Wyatt Tinker鈥檚 RBI double, and had runners at second and third with nobody out.
Hernandez was spectacular, inducing a pop fly, striking out a batter and getting a fly ball to end the threat and the game.
鈥淔irst time the whole season I finished a game,鈥� he said, smiling. He had been sent to the bullpen by Kiraly just in case.
鈥淚ncredible,鈥� Kiraly said of Hernandez鈥檚 performance. 鈥淗e came through and it was huge for us.鈥�
No. 2 CLEVELAND 11, No. 6 CARLSBAD 2: Senior righty Treven Polanco pitched a solid, complete-game five-hitter for the Storm (27-3) as the program advanced to the state final for the fourth time in school history and first time since 2024.
Cleveland is searching for its first baseball championship.
Polanco was effective, and his defense was stellar behind him. Cleveland threw out one Carlsbad base runner trying to steal third, and the Storm also turned a pair of inning-ending double plays.
The Storm scored three runs in the second inning, though two of them were gifted by the Cavemen (19-11) on a throwing error by starting pitcher Evan Ortiz. Polanco also drove in a run in that inning with a single to center.
The Storm upped the lead to 4-1 in the third on a fielder鈥檚 choice grounder. Wade Cozart of Carlsbad got his team on the board with an RBI single in the top of the fourth, but Polanco didn鈥檛 leave the Cavemen lineup many openings to do damage.
Cleveland blew it open by tacking on three insurance runs in the fifth. Ben Herman had an RBI single, as did Noah Segura. The Storm added four more runs in the sixth.
Anthony Del Angel had a triple and three runs for the Storm. Polanco, Segura and Herman all had two RBIs.
The Storm and Piedra Vista split two 1-5A games this season. Cleveland won 9-7 in Rio Rancho, the Panthers won 2-1 in Farmington.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at .
