Cleveland Storm Tops Bloomfield 5-2, Improves to 9-0 at Piedra Vista Invite

Nine games in, the Cleveland Storm have yet to lose.

The Storm topped the Bloomfield Bobcats 5-2 on Saturday at Farmington's Piedra Vista Invite, with updates flowing in from Ricketts Park throughout the afternoon. The win pushed Cleveland to 9-0 on the season, capping what has been a dominant run through two early-season tournaments.

The result was built on strong pitching and key hits, according to available game reports, though a full boxscore with individual statistics had not been released as of Saturday evening. What is clear is that Cleveland's pitching staff has been the engine of this streak: the Storm have not dropped a game since the season opened.

The Piedra Vista Invite has been particularly kind to Cleveland. Just two days earlier, on Thursday, March 12, the Storm dismantled Miyamura High School 36-0 in another tournament game, a margin that underscored their dominance in the field. That win had extended the streak to eight; Saturday's win over Bloomfield made it nine.

The Storm's hot start stretches back to the Hobbs Invitational, where Cleveland beat Belen High School 23-3 on March 6. By March 7, the team had already strung together four consecutive wins, and the victories kept coming through the following weekend.

Cleveland ranked third in both the New Mexico 5A standings and the Albuquerque area as of March 12, according to MaxPreps rankings updated before the Bloomfield result was factored in.

The Storm's pitching depth showed itself earlier in the season as well. At the season-opening Cleveland Invitational in late February, senior right-hander Treven Polanco earned a win by working five innings, while sophomore Caleb Budagher went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and two runs scored and sophomore Benjamin Herman contributed a 2-for-2 performance with an RBI. Stat leaders on the season include Xavier Vasquez, who is listed atop the wins category on MaxPreps.

Cleveland's schedule coming out of the Piedra Vista Invite figures to test whether that 9-0 record holds. For now, the Storm have given fans in San Juan County every reason to pay attention.