Los Alamos softball sweeps Pojoaque with mercy-rule doubleheader wins

Los Alamos softball did more than win twice at Hope Field. It imposed itself from the first pitch, then forced Pojoaque to live with two mercy-rule finishes, 14-0 and 21-2, in a doubleheader that showed how complete the Hilltoppers looked in White Rock.

The margin mattered as much as the sweep. Los Alamos controlled both games on both sides of the ball, turning early offense into shortened contests and giving Pojoaque little room to recover. K’Lee Warwick added the biggest swing of the day with a grand slam home run, a play that underscored how quickly the Hilltoppers could bury an opponent once they started putting runners on base.

The wins also carried the kind of season context that makes a lopsided afternoon stand out. MaxPreps listed the 21-2 result as part of a stretch in which Los Alamos had won 13 games by eight runs or more, and the Hilltoppers’ record improved to 14-5. Pojoaque Valley, by contrast, dropped to 2-19 and entered an 18-game losing streak. Los Alamos had already beaten Pojoaque Valley 19-0 earlier in the season on April 8, a sign that Friday’s sweep fit a pattern rather than a one-day spike.

At Hope Field, the setting added its own weight. The field at Overlook Park in White Rock carries the name of Hope Jaramillo, the longtime Los Alamos coach and volunteer whose legacy was formally honored when Los Alamos County renamed Minors A Field in her memory. Jaramillo graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1987 and died on Jan. 29, 2020. The dedication ceremony was held June 19, 2021, tying the Hilltopper program’s present-day success to one of the county’s most recognizable softball figures.

The game photos also showed the senior class at the center of the moment: Adia Fortin, Andrea Dominguez, Abagail DeHerrera, Sierra Gonzales, K’Lee Warwick and Reyana Naranjo were recognized at the field. That senior group was part of a day that sent a clear message about where Los Alamos stands in district play. When a team can produce a 35-2 combined margin in one afternoon, shorten both games by mercy rule and keep stacking decisive wins this deep into the season, it looks less like a hot streak and more like a program peaking at the right time.