Tohatchi, Hózhó Academy claim titles at Wingate Shash Slam Tournament

By Truman Begaye
Special to the Times

WINGATE, N.M.

The 2026 Wingate Shash Baseball and Softball Slam Tournament wrapped up Saturday afternoon at Wingate High School with dominant championship performances from Tohatchi and Hózhó Academy.

The Tohatchi Cougars captured the baseball title with a decisive 10-0 win over the Shiprock Northwest Falcons, while the Hózhó Academy Lady Wolves rolled to a 14-1 victory over the Wingate Lady Bears in the softball championship game.

In the softball title game, Hózhó Academy controlled the pace early and never let up. The Lady Wolves broke through in the top of the second inning, erupting for seven runs to take a commanding 7-0 lead.

After a scoreless third inning, Hózhó added two more runs in the fourth to extend the lead to 9-0. They continued their offensive surge in the fifth, plating five additional runs before Wingate managed its lone run in the bottom half of the inning, closing the game at 14-1.

Hózhó Academy entered its junior varsity squad into the tournament, using the weekend as an opportunity to build experience against varsity-level competition.

“It’s really good for this team to win something like this,” said Hózhó Academy head coach Rayfert Spencer. “Most of these girls are eighth graders and it’s their first year playing, so for us to do that against these varsity teams does really well for them. I thought they played well all weekend.”

On the baseball side, Tohatchi delivered one of the more surprising results of the tournament, shutting out Shiprock Northwest 10-0 in the championship game.

Both teams had battled through strong competition to reach the final, with the Falcons, a 1A program, picking up wins over 3A teams, while the Cougars followed a similar path. But in the title game, Tohatchi set the tone early with dominant pitching and sharp defensive play that kept Shiprock Northwest from advancing runners past second base.

Senior Brayden Chee led the way on the mound, recording nine strikeouts in the shutout victory.

“I’d say the kids wanted to win back-to-back, so it was really up to them,” said Tohatchi head coach Freeland Benally. “It’s great for these kids to win back-to-back like this.”

Benally also pointed to the bigger picture as district play approaches.

“Winning a game like this shows what we need to practice,” he said. “The things we still need to work on are our hitting and defense. In the long run, it will help us when we go into district play. These are like pickup games where we can improve.”

In the third-place games, the Thoreau Lady Hawks defeated the Newcomb Lady Skyhawks 20-5 in the softball bracket, while the Jemez Valley Warriors claimed an 18-4 win over the Wingate Bears in baseball.

Tohatchi will open District 1-3A play with a doubleheader against Zuni on Thursday at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. The Hózhó Academy varsity team will play in the NPS Atsá Spring Jamboree, which is hosted by Navajo Prep.

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