Cleveland Storm No-Hitter Tops Rio Rancho 7-0, Clinches Metro Title at 13-0

Treven Polanco retired the final batter of the APS Metro Baseball Championships final on Saturday, and before he could take another breath, his Cleveland Storm teammates had already bolted from the dugout and swarmed the mound.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior right-hander had just thrown an 87-pitch no-hitter against No. 2-seeded Rio Rancho, carrying the No. 1-seeded Storm to a 7-0 championship victory and an unblemished 13-0 record on March 21.

"It felt really great. Amazing. My first no-hitter," Polanco said. "I just wanted to attack the zone, I knew I could beat them and trust my defense."

Polanco, who is signed to play at Chandler-Gilbert College in Arizona, struck out five, walked three and hit one batter across 21 recorded outs. Of those 21 outs, only three were fly balls that reached the outfield, a testament to the ground-ball approach he executed from the first pitch. His only genuine moment of vulnerability came in the sixth inning, when he walked consecutive batters to open the frame. The Storm answered with a double play that ended the threat without a run scoring, and no Rio Rancho baserunner advanced beyond second base all game.

His approach was deliberate: attack the inner half, force contact, trust the infield behind him. "Beat them on the inside half of the plate, make them beat my fastball and make them swing and get some ground balls," Polanco said. "I felt like I had my stuff today." He effectively mixed breaking stuff with what his coach described as a lively fastball to keep the Rams off balance throughout.

Cleveland coach Shane Shallenberger did not mince words afterward. "He was pinpoint. He was hitting the spots today," Shallenberger said. "I'm very proud of Treven. He had an amazing day." It was Polanco's fourth quality start in as many appearances this season, improving his individual record to 4-0.

The defense held up its end. Senior shortstop Anthony Del Angel, an Oklahoma signee, made the two most critical plays behind Polanco. His second came in the third inning with two outs, when Rio Rancho leadoff batter Brayden Bustillos hit a slow chopper toward short. Del Angel had to charge in and break slightly right, close fast, then uncork a throw across the diamond to beat Bustillos to the bag. "I just tried my best to back him up a little bit," Del Angel said. At the plate, he walked twice, doubled and scored two of Cleveland's seven runs.

Del Angel captured the locker-room mood with characteristic bluntness: "That was awesome, man. He was being a dawg and it was just awesome being on his side."

Rio Rancho entered the final at 11-2, making the shutout margin all the more striking. The Storm's 13-0 finish as Metro champions positions Cleveland as one of the state's most dangerous programs heading into the postseason.

In the softball metro final played the same day, Volcano Vista, the No. 4 seed, knocked off No. 2 La Cueva 11-1 to extend its winning streak to eight consecutive games and improve to 10-3 on the season.