Kurt Johnson
Las Cruces Bulletin
There is a different kind of pressure that arrives with playoff baseball in New Mexico. It begins before the first pitch, before the long drives north, before the state tournament narrows to eight teams in Albuquerque. It starts with the understanding that seasons can disappear quickly, sometimes in a single inning, sometimes against a team a program just spent the previous week trying to beat.
That reality hangs over southern New Mexico as the Class 5A state baseball tournament opens with 6 p.m. games Friday night. For Las Cruces-area teams, the bracket arrives with dramatically different storylines.
For Centennial High School and Las Cruces High School, it means trying to navigate something familiar: six rivalry games in roughly two weeks.
After winning the District 3-5A championship and finishing 24-2 overall, Centennial earned the No. 5 seed and another best-of-three series against Las Cruces, a team the Hawks just swept in three games last week.
“It’s tough to beat good teams multiple times,” Centennial coach Rusty Evans said. “At this point in the season, you’ve got to beat the team that’s in front of you.”
The unusual rematch immediately raises the old baseball saying about how difficult it is to beat the same team repeatedly.
Las Cruces coach Gil Padilla laughed at the setup.
“I’ve heard of some three-game series. I’ve heard some four-game series, but not a six-game series,” Padilla said. “I think that only happens at the Triple-A level with the Chihuahuas.”
Still, Padilla believes familiarity works both ways.
“The good thing about it is that we know what they do and they also know what we do,” he said. “So, it’s about let’s see what happens. Let’s go out there and compete.”
Centennial enters the postseason behind the bats of Gilbert Torres, Israel Molina and Kenneth Alons, while Chase Sanchez leads a pitching staff Evans believes is built for playoff baseball. Las Cruces counters with a veteran-heavy roster led by Gunnar Guardiola, Nick Rojas, Isaiah Borunda, Aaron Alvarado and Danny Amaro.
Padilla said the Bulldawgs’ greatest strength may simply be the chemistry of a senior class that refuses to splinter after a difficult week.
“They do everything together,” Padilla said. “They go to battle for each other.”
While Centennial and Las Cruces prepare for another rivalry chapter, Mayfield High School quietly may have earned the postseason advantage it wanted most.
The Trojans secured the No. 8 seed and the opportunity to host No. 9 Los Lunas after finishing 18-7-1 overall. For coach Rick Montoya, hosting represented one of the program’s primary goals all season.
“One of our biggest primary goals was to host,” Montoya said. “You can’t win a state championship if you’re not there.”
Mayfield’s recent playoff history explains why. The Trojans traveled to Cleveland last season after entering as a lower seed, and before that drew powerhouse La Cueva in the opening round.
“Anybody can win one,” Montoya said. “But two out of three is usually the better team.”
This year’s Mayfield team believes it can survive with pitching, defense and timely offense. Senior pitcher Brody Ochoa anchors the staff, while seniors Michael Montoya and Hunter Chavez, along with junior Pancho Gonzalez, lead the offense.
“Our mantra is just score one more than they do,” Montoya said.
Montoya also likes the structure of New Mexico’s postseason format, which shifts to single elimination once teams reach Albuquerque.
“In baseball, for one game, we can play with anyone,” he said.
Meanwhile, Organ Mountain High School enters the tournament carrying perhaps the most unpredictable profile of the four local teams.
The Knights finished 16-10 overall and earned the No. 11 seed, sending them on the road to face Carlsbad in the play-in round. Coach Carlos Lara admitted Organ Mountain likely cost itself a better seed late in the season.
“We did it to ourselves,” Lara said. “If we win a couple of games here and there in the last two series of the year, we’re in a different spot.”
Still, the Knights believe they can compete after losing a close 3-0 game to Carlsbad earlier this season. Organ Mountain is led by Alex Venegas, Ryo Rivera and Osvaldo Arras, while Lara said the team remains mostly healthy entering the postseason.
Like every coach this week, Lara emphasized the importance of the opening game in a best-of-three series.
“Game one is always important,” he said. “It gives you that boost, that confidence.”
That may ultimately define this opening weekend.
The first round of the New Mexico state tournament rewards consistency. Win two of three and a team advances to Albuquerque. After that, everything becomes single elimination, where one great pitching performance or one hot lineup can suddenly reshape an entire season.
Centennial, Las Cruces, and Mayfield open their series’ at Field of Dreams with 6 p.m. games Friday night. Those series continue at the same location at 10 a.m. Saturday morning. Organ Mountain is at Carlsbad beginning Friday.