LAHS Sports News:
The Los Alamos High School baseball and softball teams will host first-round playoff contests this weekend.
Both teams earned District 2-4A championships this year, and both earned the right to advance to the Class 4A playoffs, which begin this weekend at home sites around the state.
Los Alamos’ softball team will take on the Valley Vikings in a single first-round contest Friday afternoon in White Rock, while the Hilltopper baseball team will face the Valencia Jaguars in the opening-round best-of-three series starting Friday afternoon and continuing Saturday on North Mesa.
The Los Alamos Daily Post will broadcast Friday’s softball game and Saturday’s baseball action. Softball starts at 3 p.m. Friday and the first game of a potential doubleheader for baseball will start at 11 a.m. Saturday – should Los Alamos and Valencia split Friday and Saturday morning’s games, a third game is scheduled for approximately 1 p.m.
In baseball, the Hilltoppers (18-7) earned the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and are the heavy favorites to win this weekend. Valencia struggled this season, particularly in District 4-5A play.
The Jaguars managed just a 9-14 record, the worst won-loss total of any team in the tournament but got into the playoffs as a 14 seed – District 4 was highly competitive this season and that fact alone may have been the reason the Jaguars got into the playoff field.
In softball, Los Alamos (19-7) had an impressive showing in District 2, bouncing back from an early loss to Taos and a near-upset by Espanola Valley to win the district title going away.
Hilltopper softball is the No. 8 seed in the 2022 playoff field and will host ninth-seeded Valley. Valley finished 14-10 overall and 6-2 in District 6-4A, coming in as the runner-up behind the 20-win Bernalillo Spartans.
The winner between Los Alamos and Valley will move on to the main bracket, which is double-elimination format. The Los Alamos-Valley winner will take on either 16-seed Kirtland Central or top overall seed Artesia May 12 at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho.
For baseball, the series winner between the Hilltoppers and the Vikings will face either sixth-seeded Santa Teresa or 11th-seeded Miyamura in the second round, which will be played May 12 at Rio Rancho High School.
