On Saturday, the New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) Colts baseball team became the Class 3A state baseball champions after defeating the Robertson Cardinals in Albuquerque.

The Colts came into this game after finishing the regular season 19-6, which granted them the first seed in the state championship and a first-round bye. In the playoffs, they defeated ninth-ranked Sandia Prepatory School 9-0. The Colts would then beat the fifth-ranked West Las Vegas 12-6 to advance to the championship game.

The Cardinals ended their season with a 15-6 record, which earned them the third seed in the state championship. They first defeated sixth-ranked Tularosa 11-6, and then the Cardinals beat second-ranked East Mountain to move on to the championship game. This will be the first time this year that the Colts and Cardinals face each other.

In the championship game, the Colts’ offense started strong. In the first two innings, they scored six runs. Their offense slowed down after that, only scoring one run for the rest of the game, but that didn’t matter, as their defense allowed only one run for the whole game. These factors contributed to  the Colts becoming the 3A baseball state champions. This is the second time in four years that the Colts have won the state championship: the other time was in 2022. This is also the third state championship for NMMI High School athletics this academic year, as the baseball team joins the soccer team and the NMMI golfer Mason Hicks as state champions.

For the team stats, the Colts had eight hits, compared to the Cardinals’ four. Five of the nine Colts batters recorded hits, while three out of the 10 batters for the Cardinals got a hit. The Cardinals committed four errors, while the Colts had zero.

Nicolas Barcelo Teran (20) led the way in both hits and RBI with three of each for the Colts. The Colts starting pitcher was senior Tegin Maloney (5), and he pitched all seven innings while striking out 15 batters, allowing four hits and one run. As a batter, he also had a second base hit.

Diego Jaramillo (20) led the Cardinals in hits with two. Connor Bonney (5) was their starting pitcher, lasting 1.2 innings while striking out three batters, allowing three hits, three walks and six runs. Brian Lucero (24) came in to relieve Bonney, lasting 4.1 innings while striking out four batters, allowing one hit and one run.

The Colts head coach, Brad Blackwell, said that he was so proud of his team and felt that the state championship was well deserved. He brought up the preparation for the state championship tournament, saying they had a great two weeks of practice. He explained that the kids came to practices dialed in and focused, which showed on the diamond. Blackwell said that this was the best he has ever seen the team perform, and their preparation led to them dominating all the tournament games they played.