KC needs competition, bigger schools, coach says

RIO RANCHO, N.M.

With the start of the district season taking place next week, the Kirtland Central softball team needed to test their mettle.

The Lady Broncos (6-4 overall) got that at the 18-team Kristin Griego Tournament, which was hosted by Rio Rancho High last week.

KC finished the tournament with a 2-2 record, as they took home the seventh-place trophy by outlasting 5A Eldorado on Saturday afternoon by a 10-9 count.

“We needed to see some competition,” first-year Bronco coach Shareesa Nusser said. “We wanted to see the bigger schools because back home we faced some teams that were just starting out with a lot of younger girls. So we were looking for more competitive games.”

At the Rio Rancho tournament, the Broncos defeated Valencia in the opening round, 5-1, before they faced three quality teams at the 5A level as they came up short to Volcano Vista and La Cueva by scores of 14-1 and 16-0.

“Having that competition pushed and motivated my girls,” Nusser said, “but we should have played for fifth place. A lot of my girls were not feeling good when we played La Cueva, so I had all of my younger players play.

“I think I had one senior on the field,” she added. “A lot of them their arms were hurting. They were sore from the game before, so they sat in the dugout, which allowed by younger girls to play.”

The KC coach said she pitched junior Lakaya Valdez while the rest of lineup were mostly freshmen and eighth graders.

“We didn’t do that great in the first couple of innings but after we worked out the jitters we really started to show some improvements,” Nusser said. “We started to play but by that time it was a little too late.”

With her starters rested, the KC team battled Eldorado in a back-and-forth affair before pulling out the win in five innings due to time limit.

“It was actually a really good game,” Nusser said. “We hit the ball. Our girls were mentally ready to play. We started off as visitors and so our girls really started off with a good round of hitting.”

Inside the circle, the KC coach said senior ace Anayah Wabbington played spectacular.

“She has decent speed, but her defense is the movement that she has on the ball,” Nusser said. “She had a lot of their batters popping up, which helped our defense.”

The first-year coach was also impressed with the play of centerfielder Lashauna Begay, who was named to the all-tournament team.

“She had three diving catches for the whole tournament, two against Eldorado,” Nusser said. “She also laid a couple of bunts down, so she played amazing.”

Nusser said she is “super excited” to start the district season as the Broncos will open up with Gallup on Tuesday against the 2021 4A reserve champions.

“I really believe my girls have a chance to take district as long as they play as a team,” she said. “And I’m looking forward to having a seat for the state playoffs.”

With three different coaches in the past three years, Nusser said the program has been on rocky ground.

“I have a good group of girls and they’re doing pretty good,” she said. “We’ve won a few games and that is something the girls need, especially with the nine seniors that I have.”

Seven of those seniors are starters for KC squad, which will host Laguna-Acoma in a doubleheader today.

Base on what she’s heard, Nusser said her squad has made some vast improvements from last season.

“I was told our outfield last year struggled,” she said. “This year we’re making plays and making catches in the outfield.

“My lineup for hitting is pretty solid,” the KC coach added. “I’ve got a lot of girls that can either swing away or bunt and so I’m super excited about that because I can move anybody anywhere and still get the job done.”

“I mean, even my five hole can bunt,” she said. “And even my eight hole can hit away. As far as hitting, we’re pretty solid there as long as we can get our timing and stay on top of the ball.”

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