Photo Courtesy of Shannon Aragon
The West Las Vegas Dons baseball team advanced to the state quarterfinals this past weekend, taking down Navajo Prep in two consecutive games to escape the first round of the tournament.Â
They will be joined by Robertson in this week’s quarterfinals, as the Cardinals earned a first-round bye with a top-four seed.Â
Both games in the first-round series for the Dons proved to be blowouts, 11-0 in the first game and 10-0 in the second game, as West Las Vegas proved they are peaking at the right time heading into this weekend’s set of games to determine a state champion.Â
After scoring one run in the first inning in the first game of the weekend, West exploded for six runs in the second inning to put the game away before Navajo Prep had a chance to catch their breath. The Dons extended their lead up to double digits by the end of the fourth inning, and the team retired Navajo Prep in the fifth inning to win via the mercy rule.
The second game was similar, with West’s pitching staff continuing to shut down Navajo Prep’s offense, while the West Las Vegas offense strung together hits and put crooked numbers up on the scoreboard.Â
The Dons won the second game 10-0 and ended it early to begin getting ready for this week’s quarterfinal matchup.Â
In the quarterfinals, West Las Vegas will face No. 4 seed and district rival St. Michael’s. The Horsemen won all three district games against West Las Vegas this year, so West will be hoping to turn that trend around on the neutral field in Albuquerque. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Robertson will get back to action on Thursday as well, taking on No. 6 seed Tularosa in the quarterfinals. Tularosa advanced to this stage by taking down No. 11 seed Ruidoso in two straight games last weekend. Robert’s game is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday.Â
The state baseball tournament runs through Saturday, when a new champion will be crowned.Â