Hózhó Academy reaches A/2A title game, stuns Estancia in semis

By Quentin Jodie
Navajo Times

ALBUQUERQUE – In succession, the Hózhó Academy Wolves defeated the top three seeds to reach the championship game of the New Mexico Class A/2A state softball tournament.

The sixth-seeded Hózhó team rallied from a one-run deficit and stunned top seed Estancia, 6-5, in Thursday’s semifinal game at Los Altos Park in Albuquerque.

“It was an intense game,” Hózhó head coach Ray Spencer said. “Just getting to that last inning, we knew we just got to play defense. Defense was the key because they’re great hitters. No matter what, they hit the ball very well.”

On Wednesday morning, the Spencer-coached team turned back No. 2 seed Loving, 3-1. Last week, Hózhó rallied past No. 3 Lordsburg, 11-10, to set up its meeting with Loving.

“Our defense was on point today and yesterday,” Ray said.

In Thursday’s win, the Wolves made the routine outs in the bottom of the seventh as Estancia had its top of the lineup come up. But after a couple of flyout catches from first baseman Abrianna Castillo and shortstop Mia Baca, it put the pressure back on the top-ranked Lady Bears.

Estancia, however, had the game-tying run at first when Jhenna Valencia hit a hard grounder to left field. Nevertheless, the Wolves ended that threat as Baca came up with a crucial out as Estancia sophomore Peyton Looper attempted a line drive.

“(The ball) was coming at me really, really fast,” Baca said. “I just stuck my glove out there to catch it. I’m happy that I caught that because we get to play in the championship game.”

The Wolves will face Loving in the title game, as the four-time defending state champs beat Estancia 9-3 in the elimination game on Thursday afternoon.

The championship game is set for Friday at 10 a.m. at UNM Softball Complex in Albuquerque. The “if needed” championship game is scheduled for 2 p.m. should Hózhó lose that first game.

“We just have to play our game,” Spencer said of the title game. “We’ve been doing the right things so far. We just got to keep going with our pitching, hitting, and fielding.”

The Hózhó coach said they’re not going to change anything as the Wolves seems to be peaking at the right time.

In “(Wednesday’s) game, in the huddle, I just told them to go full out,” Spencer said. “We have nothing to lose; we’re the underdogs here as the sixth seed.”

Between the two clubs, there were 10 errors with Estancia committing six on Thursday.

Still, the Wolves earned their first two runs the old-fashioned way with Baca nailing a two-run homer in the top of the first with two outs.

“That was huge,” Spencer said. “It got the rally started and I think we got (two) runs in that inning, but it was a big hit. And she’s been on point for the state tournament. She’s been getting on base.”

In the next inning, courtesy runner Anna Meders stole home that pushed Hózhó’s cushion to 3-0.

Estancia trimmed that lead down to 3-2 with a pair of extra base hits to close out the second frame. The Bears received a run-scoring double from junior Ana Cuevas, which was followed by an RBI triple from Rylynne Velarde.

In the third, Baca got on with a double and she scored when Estancia shortstop Peyton Looper overthrew the ball to first for a 4-2 lead.

The Bears, however, regrouped and put across three runs in the bottom of the third with Cuevas and Velarde nailing back-to-back doubles. Velarde’s two-run shot earned Estancia its first lead at 5-4.

After two scoreless innings, Hózhó rallied with two runs in the sixth, but they faced an uphill battle with two outs.

While facing a full count and with a runner on, eighth-grader Iris Albert nailed a grounder into centerfield for an RBI double that tied the game. The Bears then gifted Hózhó the go-ahead run as eighth-grader Hayden Tsosie reached first on an error by Estancia third baseman Molli Garcia as Albert scored.

In that inning, the Bears committed its fifth and sixth error as Hózhó took advantage of those miscues.

“Any team that’s on the field, if you put pressure on them, they’re gonna fail,” Spencer said. “That is what we try to do. Even with us, if they put pressure on us, we’re gonna fail.”

To put more pressure on Estancia, Spencer said his club was hitting the ball in between the gaps and, at times, they were looking to take two bases instead of one.

“That was key, just getting on base,” he said. “When we do that, we can start making things happen … our bunting and our hitting was on point today.”

The Wolves finished with five hits with Albert and Baca leading the way with two hits each.

In the circle, ace pitcher Alysha Skeets went the distance as she gave up five runs (four earned) on eight hits while striking out four batters.

“Alysha is our workhorse,” Spencer said. “We just tell her to hit your spots and we’ll back you up.”

And while she pitched a solid game, Skeets acknowledged there were some intense moments when Estancia extended their at-bats by fouling the ball, especially late in the contest.

“There was a lot going through my head, but I know my teammates can back me up,” Skeets said.

As for Baca’s game-ending catch, the Hózhó pitcher had faith that her shortstop would make that play.

“That (catch) was huge,” she said. “When she caught that, I was so relieved because (Estancia) can hit.”

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