Melrose stuns Logan in title game

ALBUQUERQUE - For once, it wasn't the Longhorns' day.

District rival Melrose - especially starting pitcher Dathan Yeary - dashed Logan's dreams for a third straight Class 1A baseball title and an undefeated season by seizing a 10-run lead at one point during a 13-7 victory Saturday at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex.

The victory was especially sweet for the Buffaloes (12-5), the No. 3 seed in the tournament, after the top-seeded Longhorns conquered them three previous times during the regular season by a combined score of 50-7.

Melrose coach Jared Wilhoit told his team it was important to seize the initiative on Saturday.

"We talked to the guys about getting some run support early. Dathan, we knew if we got him a little bit of a lead, he could hold on to it for us," he said.

"We'd seen them three times already, and it's tough to beat a team four times. The guys never got discouraged, and they knew they had a shot," Wilhoit added.

Melrose trailed the game only once - 2-1 in the third inning. Yeary, a junior right-hander, kept working himself out of trouble. He struck out 11, walked two and allowed four earned runs in six innings.

Yeary admitted he learned a few lessons from those lopsided losses to the Longhorns.

"I knew I needed to not throw just fastballs," he said. "I needed to start them off with some curves and different stuff here and there. And I had a great field behind me."

Meanwhile, Logan's hitters left nine baserunners stranded. And the Longhorns committed 10 errors, leading to nine unearned runs for hard-luck Logan ace Kaeden Stoner, who struck out seven, walked six and allowed six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

"We didn't hit the ball great today in clutch situations where we had men on," Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. "Kaeden did his job, threw strikes. But it's just one of those games where things didn't fall in our lap the way they needed to.

"Some things didn't go our way, and things went their way."

Logan's senior all-state catcher, Park Strong, echoed a similar lament.

"We had a couple of things not go our way," he said. "It sucks, but we've got to get through it and move on."

Logan freshman Mason Wallin continued to hit, going 4-for-4 with a team-high two RBI. Stoner helped his cause by going 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored.

Wilhoit observed that Stoner didn't pile up strikeouts as he usually did.

"Kaeden Stoner's a great pitcher, but we were able to hit him," he said. "We knew if we could get on a run against him, we'd have a good shot at it."

Melrose drew first blood in the second inning when Rykor Loomis walked, stole a base and scored on Jaxon Odom's single.

Logan answered with two runs in the third on a walk, three errors and a single. That 2-1 advantage would wind up being the Longhorns' only lead of the game.

The Buffs scored four in the fifth inning on RBI singles by Briar Larson and Odom, two errors and a walk.

The Longhorns got a run back when Stoner singled, advanced to second and third on wild pitches and came home on Wallin's single.

Melrose seized control with a seven-run sixth. Loomis led off with a walk, Josiah Roybal singled, and Mike Cardonita singled to make it a 6-3 game.

Yeary walked to load the bases, and Larson hit a sharply dropping line drive to right that skipped under the outfielder's glove for a triple. Larson came home on an overthrow for a Little League home run and a 10-3 lead.

Stoner then had to be lifted from the game because he reached his 120-pitch limit.

Strong relieved, and he gave up an infield single by Odom that drove in another run. Loomis reached base on a dropped third strike, which scored another run for a 12-3 Melrose advantage.

Melrose made it 13-3 in the top of the seventh when Cy Draper doubled and scored on two throwing errors.

The Longhorns gamely fought back in the bottom half of their last inning. Stoner doubled, then scored on Strong's double.

Yeary was lifted from the game due to reaching the pitch limit. Against reliever Roybal, Wallin, Brock Burns and Diego Sanchez each hit RBI singles to make it 13-7 with one out.

Roybal finally retired the side on two groundouts, touching off a wild celebration on the field by the players and coaches for Melrose's first state championship in baseball since 2016.

Logan (19-1) loses three seniors: Strong, third baseman Skyler DeLuca and infielder Colton Liles.

"Our seniors have brought our program where it is now," Griffiths said. "They've been starting since they were eighth-graders. Without them, we wouldn't be in this spot."

Strong gave his appreciation for being a starter on two state-champion teams.

"I'm just very grateful to have had the teammates we've had and have had the coaches I've had," he said.

Logan 14, Mesilla Valley Christian 4

The Longhorns scored six runs with two out in the third inning to help secure a 14-4 semifinal victory in five innings Friday over fourth-seeded Mesilla Valley Christian.

Logan trailed just once - 1-0 in the top of the first - and kept piling on the runs against the SonBlazers (11-5).

DeLuca went 4-for-4 for the Longhorns with three doubles, a triple and five RBI, and he scored the deciding run in a contest shortened by the mercy rule. Wallin went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in.

"We had a bunch of timely hits in that game. We battled," Griffiths said. "(Mesilla Valley) put the ball in play a lot better than many teams we've seen. I knew they could score some runs, but I was proud of the way we battled at the plate and had some big hits when we needed them."

Logan starting pitcher Brock Burns struck out 10 and allowed seven hits, three walks and just one earned run.

"He's been really consistent all year in getting guys out," Griffiths said of Burns. "That's why we thought we could pitch him in this game. He walked a couple of guys, but overall, I thought he pitched a great game."

With Logan clinging to a 6-4 lead and two out in the third inning, the Longhorns loaded the bases with two singles and a hit batter. Wallin walked to drive in a run. Burns and DeLuca followed with consecutive two-run doubles, and Sanchez hit an RBI single to make it 12-4.

In the fifth, Wallin doubled and scored on DeLuca's triple. With the bases loaded and Mesilla Valley facing elimination due to the 10-run rule, Aydin Kotara was hit by a pitch to drive in DeLuca and end the game.

"They're the best team we've faced this year within our division," SonBlazers coach Steve Beardsley said. "But we competed, and we hit the ball well. Our kids had great heart and great attitude all year."