Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Logan baserunner Park Strong slides into second base during a steal attempt against Melrose during the Class 1A baseball semifinal at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho. Strong was named Class 1A Player of the Year by the New Mexico Baseball Coaches Association.
Logan catcher Park Strong was named Class 1A Player of the Year and Logan coach Kyle Griffiths was named Class 1A Coach of the Year during recent All-State Team voting by the New Mexico Baseball Coaches Association.
Pitcher Kaeden Stoner also was a first-team selection in Class 1A from the state-champion Longhorns.
Infielder Mason Wallin was a second-team selection in Class 1A, and outfielders Aydin Kotara and Diego Sanchez each were honorable mentions.
Strong, a junior, led the Longhorns in on-base percentage (.709), home runs (2), stolen bases (35) and runs scored (50). When not a catcher, he was second on the team with a 3.29 earned run average as a starting pitcher.
Griffiths guided the 20-3 Longhorns to their second straight Class 1A state championship in May.
As a sophomore ace, Stoner sported a 1.74 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings for the Longhorns. As a batter, he hit a team-leading .561 with 46 hits and was second on the team in RBI with 30.
Wallin, an eighth-grader, hit .538 with a team-leading 37 RBI and nine doubles.
Kotara, also an eighth-grader, sported a .400 batting average and was third on the Longhorns team with 30 stolen bases and 41 runs scored.
Sanchez, a freshman, hit .382 with 25 runs scored and 26 RBI.
In all-state voting, Eunice boasted three pitchers, three infielders and two outfielders on the first team. The Cardinals finished with a 26-1 record and captured the Class 2A championship.
