Piedra Vista Wins First District Title Despite Loss; Farmington Baseball Prepares for State

May 8, 2010

Friday evening saw what will go down as a historic District 1AAAA title game between Farmington High and Piedra Vista High. The game saw two Division 1 signees in dead lockstep on the mound, extra innings, and victory for the home team. As FHS 3B, Joe Cervantes, touched home in the bottom of the 8th, the Scorps raced from the dugout to celebrate at the plate while the Panthers sauntered off of the field. All was not lost, however, since, due to a rule which is ripe for amendment, the Panthers still retained enough of a runs scored/allowed difference to collect their school’s first title.

The following morning, coaches from both schools carpooled and caravanned together southward to scout various potential opponents they may face in the upcoming state tournament in what will surely go down as another first. Prior to this season, the coaching staffs of the two powerhouses were bitter rivals and enemies. With a new generation of coaches at both schools has come a sense of cooperativity both in the school ball season and the club seasons. It is the opinion of the local baseball community that this cooperation was entirely overdue. The rivalry at times destroyed friendships, resulted in criminal activity, and, most importantly, stalled players’ development. No doubt the schools shared some of their scouting information in an effort to ensure the state title comes home to Farmington. It’s about time that eastside and westside Farmington were viewed as a single baseball community.

Sunday morning the two schools snagged the top two seeds in the state tournament bracket (PV at the top) ensuring that the earliest the two clubs can meet is the title bout. The road will be tough for both schools with a number of strong Albuquerque metro schools as well as a couple strong squads from the southern half of the state. Nevertheless, none of these schools should stand in the way of what should break the current tie between the two powers from up north.

PV has never won a state championship, but they have played in a handful.  They are the heavy favorite to win their first one this month, but what FHS proved last weekend is that this juggernaut has a weakness or two. Most notably is the fact that their entire lineup is right-handed. Scorpion starting arm, Eli Freese, held the Panthers to just two hits and never allowed a ball into the outfield in the air. Good downward and heavy action from righties will cause PV trouble at the plate. They play exceptional defense and have easily the strongest rotation and bullpen in the state, but other schools possess a more diverse offense. Don’t get me wrong, though. PV has proven they can scrape runs across when they need primarily by means of speed and an aggressive approach to running bases.

The state tourney kicks off this weekend with both Farmington High and PV hosting regionals at Ricketts against Bernalillo and Deming respectively. The visiting squads should not beat either of the home junior varsities, so let’s hope the Scorps and Panthers can get some of the early postseason jitters out Friday so they will be ready to attack in the quarters the following weekend.

As an alum of both of these programs (played at FHS and coached at PV), I am not sure I have ever been as proud to be a member of the Farmington baseball community as I am now. The way these two rivals have turned their war into something that benefits everyone has been nothing short of inspirational, and both schools will reap the rewards for generations. The perception held by kids now is not that they will eventually be a Panther or a Scorp but rather that they will represent their town in a way that is shared and owned communally. Finally. Best of luck to both of these schools. Leave no doubt in anyone’s mind where the blue trophy belongs: Ricketts.