Piedra Vista beats Farmington 12-2, tightens District 1-5A race

Piedra Vista turned a rivalry game into a standings shift Tuesday night at Ricketts Park, beating Farmington 12-2 and moving into a three-way tie for first place in District 1-5A with Rio Rancho and Cleveland.

The Panthers did it with a complete performance. Alexis Hernandez delivered a strong outing on the mound, while Piedra Vista’s lineup produced timely hits throughout the order to keep Farmington from ever settling into the game. Kade Aragon drove the offense, and Amasi Griego added multiple runs batted in and runs scored as the Panthers pulled away after Farmington’s early scoring kept the game from becoming an immediate run-rule mismatch.

The win pushed Piedra Vista to 4-1 in district play and, according to MaxPreps, to 19-2 overall. MaxPreps also said the Panthers had won 14 games by seven runs or more and had taken 12 straight home games dating back to last season. Farmington fell to 8-13 overall and had lost seven of its last eight.

That is what made the result matter beyond the scoreboard. With five games left in the regular season, Piedra Vista, Rio Rancho and Cleveland were tied atop District 1-5A, and every head-to-head result now carries extra weight in the race for district positioning, playoff seeding and home-field advantage. Piedra Vista already showed how narrow the margin can be when it opened district play with a 9-4 extra-inning win over Volcano Vista on March 31, then dropped a 9-7 decision to Cleveland on April 7.

Coach Jeff Kiraly pointed to the defensive standard that has helped the Panthers stay on top. “He’s one of the best shortstops I’ve ever coached here. When we play clean defense, we’re very tough to beat,” Kiraly said.

The win also fit a larger San Juan County baseball picture. Bloomfield beat Miyamura and Aztec rolled past Kirtland Central on the same district scoreboard, reinforcing how much is still unsettled across the region. For Piedra Vista, the victory came on the same day seniors Zack Zweschper and Kade Aragon signed letters of intent to play baseball at New Mexico Military Institute, a milestone that underscored the program’s senior leadership.

The Panthers also have recent history on their side in this rivalry. Piedra Vista beat Farmington 6-5 on a walk-off hit last season, a game that helped define a 2025 campaign in which the Panthers finished 16-10 overall and 4-6 in District 1-5A. This year’s 12-2 result suggested a different kind of team, one built to control the district race rather than chase it.