ABA 2025 crowned host team for
Connie Mack World Series

By Lee Begaye
Special to the Times

FARMINGTON

The New Mexico Connie Mack Host Qualifier has its champion—and it’s a team that dominated from the first pitch to the final out.

ABA 2025, an Albuquerque-based squad featuring standouts from several 5A powerhouses, swept through the eight-team tournament at Ricketts Park, capping an undefeated run with a 4-1 win over Midland NM on Sunday morning to earn the coveted host team berth at the 2025 Connie Mack World Series.

From dominant pitching to timely hitting and defensive sharpness, ABA 2025 proved themselves worthy of the national spotlight—and they did it against elite competition, including multiple players from Texas high schools and a rematch with a tough Midland NM club.

ABA 2025’s journey began with a 2-0 win over Xclusive Baseball on Wednesday morning. They followed that up with a thriller on Thursday—a 3-2 extra-inning victory over Midland NM where the Farmington team stranded 13 Midland runners, keeping their composure in tense moments.

On Friday, they cruised past USA Prime Duke City in a 6-inning, time-limited 10-2 win. Sandia High’s Damon McRee, a New Mexico Highlands signee, pitched all six innings, striking out eight and scattering six hits in a lights-out performance.

Saturday night brought a narrow 5-4 win over 4 Corners South. ABA scored all five runs in the second inning, beginning with a solo blast to left field from Cibola graduate Jacob Segotta. La Cueva’s Drew Watkins and Grants High’s Dominick Gonzales each drove in runs with back-to-back singles. Eldorado’s Ethan Marquez added a sacrifice fly to keep the rally going. ABA’s final run came off an error from St. John Bosco (CA)’s Phillip Swinford III, allowing Watkins to cross the plate for a 5-1 lead. 4 Corners South clawed back with three late runs, but ABA held firm.

Sunday’s final saw ABA 2025 and Midland NM face off again. This time, it was Albuquerque Academy’s Mathew Delaney, a Pima Community College commit, who led the way on the mound. Delaney went 6-plus innings, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out five.

Offensively, ABA got on the board in the third inning when McRee scored on a throwing error from Grandview (CO) shortstop Chase Chapman, after putting the ball in play off Gonzales’ bat. In the fourth, three walks by Midland’s Joe Villavicencio loaded the bases, and Guiterrez—a Klein Collins (TX) senior—walked Watkins, forcing in Artesia’s Jack Byers for a 2-0 lead.

Adriel Figueroa-Brito, a Sandia graduate and fellow Pima Community College commit, delivered big in the fifth, scoring off a single by La Cueva’s Reid Jacobson, who recently signed with the University of New Mexico. McRee then scored in the sixth off another RBI single from Figueroa-Brito, extending the lead to 4-0.

Midland NM finally broke through in the seventh, as Rock Hill (TX)’s Bammer Maes scored off a double from Piedra Vista’s Alejandro Hernandez-Carillo. But Figueroa-Brito, who had already contributed at the plate, came in to pitch and struck out the final two batters to end the game.

Figueroa-Brito finished with two of ABA’s five hits and an RBI, along with the final two outs on the mound.

“Hats off to them. They played a good baseball game,” said Midland NM head coach Martin Bayless. “We left too many runners on base in the first game, and in the second, their pitchers made pitches when they needed to. ABA has a very good team that can swing the bats, and they have an excellent pitching group.”

Eliyas Bradley-Baron, a Navajo sophomore from Piedra Vista who played with Midland NM, said the experience gave him a new perspective.

“The competition was more intense compared to playing New Mexico high school baseball,” Bradley-Baron said. “Playing with the Texas players was beneficial for me because they are older and have the experience I don’t have. I was taking cues from the shortstop and second baseman—we’ve been working on my game mechanics and learning how to be a smoother infielder.”

With the victory, ABA 2025 becomes the official host representative for the 2025 Connie Mack World Series, set to begin later this month at Ricketts Park. For a tournament long seeking a more competitive local entry, this year’s reform—and this year’s champion—may mark a turning point.

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