Zach Gonzales and Taylor Drake walk off the field after the Toppers game against the Valencia Jaguars Friday in the first game of a best of 3 game series played at Bomber Field. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
Jack Mooday rounds 3rd base and scores another run for the Toppers. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
Taylor Drake pitched the first game for the Toppers and was credited with the win. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By MIKE COTE
Sports
Los Alamos Daily Post
The third-seeded Los Alamos Hilltopper baseball team earned the sweep in the first round series and will
now move on to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
Los Alamos was dominant in the opening round best-of-three series, played this weekend at Bomber Field. Los Alamos outscored the 14th-seeded Valencia Jaguars by a combined 21-1 to sweep the series
and advance.
To finish off the series, the Hilltoppers scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Charles Steinkamp singled through the left side of the infield to knock in Grant Watkins and close out game two via the 10-
run rule.
That second game was broadcasted on the Los Alamos Daily Post’s YouTube channel.
Los Alamos dominated the second game from the get-go. Los Alamos scored three runs in the bottom of
the first added two more in the bottom of the second.
Additionally, the Hilltoppers had chances to blow the game open in the third and fourth, but needed the
two-out rally in the fifth to close things out.
Ty Swavely doubled in a pair of runs and came around to score on a bloop single by Watkins. Following
an error, Steinkamp came through with his game-winning it.
Swavely went 2-for-4 in the game with two doubles and drove in four runs. Maddox Martinez also had a
pair of hits and drove in a run Saturday.
Watkins threw all five innings to pick up the win. He got into just a couple of jams in the game, the
biggest being in the fourth, but struck out Valencia’s Daniel Jaramillo to end that threat.
With the sweep, the Hilltoppers will now take on the Miyamura Patriots Thursday. The Patriots, who
were seeded 11th, earned the only upset of the first round this weekend, knocking off the sixth-seeded
Santa Teresa Desert Warriors.
The Desert Warriors won the first game of the series, but Miyamura scored 21 runs in the second game
and 20 runs in the third game to earn the comeback.
Miyamura and Los Alamos will play at 10 a.m. Thursday at Rio Rancho High School.
Donovan Valerio was behind the plate for the second game played Saturday and catches the ball as Martin Chavez takes a swing. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Zach Gonzales catches the ball, but the throw came late, and the runner was safe in the second game. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Ty Swavely gets a nice hit in the 1st inning of the second game good for a double and 2 RBI’s. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
