Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Logan’s No. 1-ranked and unbeaten baseball team will face Mesilla Valley Christian in the Class 1A semifinals at 10 a.m. Friday in Albuquerque.
That game and other Class 1A tournament matchups will be played at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex in west Albuquerque.
Mesilla Valley (11-4), a fourth-seed, trounced fifth-seeded Gateway Christian 18-8 on Wednesday in Las Cruces. The SonBlazers stormed to a 12-1 lead in three innings.
It was the first time since 2018 that Gateway had failed to advance to the title game.
The winner of the Logan-MVC game will play the victor of the Melrose-Magdalena semifinal for the Class 1A championship trophy at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Third-seeded Melrose (10-5), a district foe of Logan’s, edged sixth-seeded Cimarron 7-6 in its quarterfinal game Wednesday.
Magdalena (13-3), the No. 2 seed, earned a first-round bye. Logan also had a first-round bye.
Magdalena split two games against Melrose and swept a doubleheader against Mesilla Valley during the regular season.
Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said he would start Kaeden Stoner or Brock Burns on the pitcher’s mound Friday.
Stoner, the team’s ace, is 5-0 with an 0.72 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings. Burns (3-0) has a 3.23 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 26 innings.
The Longhorns did not face Magdalena or Mesilla Valley during the regular season. They played Melrose twice and won both by a combined score of 27-4.
Logan (18-0) is going for its third straight state championship and is the only undefeated baseball team left in New Mexico. The Longhorns have outscored opponents 292-41 this season.