Belen, Los Lunas swept in state baseball playoff openers

Belen and Los Lunas both left the state baseball tournament after two games, but the sweeps told very different stories about where Valencia County’s two programs stand. Belen’s loss looked like a setback for a team that should be back, while Los Lunas watched a veteran group run out of road after a district title and another deep postseason push.

The New Mexico Activities Association bracket seeded Belen No. 11 in Class 4A against No. 6 Hope Christian, and the Eagles never got a foothold in the best-of-three series that began May 8. Belen fell 12-6 in the opener at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex and then dropped Game 2, 11-3, at Santa Ana Star Field. Ethan Hardeman’s long home run gave Belen one of its few bright moments, but Hope Christian kept finding gaps and kept pressure on the Eagles’ pitching and defense. Justin Miller’s team lost for the fifth straight time to Hope, and the season ended at 15-12 while Hope improved to 22-6 and extended its winning streak to nine.

For Belen, the bracket result looked harsh but not terminal. Only three seniors are leaving, which means much of the core that carried the Eagles through a 15-win season will return. That matters in a state format that rewards depth, pitching and the ability to win on the road in a two-game series. The lesson from Hope Christian was blunt: Belen can compete, but it has to turn close games and early mistakes into cleaner postseason baseball if it wants to move past the first round next year.

Los Lunas faced a different kind of exit. The Tigers, seeded No. 9 in Class 5A, went to Las Cruces to face No. 8 Mayfield and were swept 6-4 and 10-0, with the second game at Field of Dreams leaving Los Lunas with just one hit. Cliff De Graaf called the ending painful, but he also had reason to point to what the roster accomplished, including a district championship and a senior class of 14 players led by Kaiden Reese and Jasiah Byers.

That makes Los Lunas’ sweep more of a final chapter than a starting point. The Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals a year ago after sweeping Volcano Vista, so the program has shown it can play deep into May. This year, though, the weight of experience was on the field for the last time, while Belen’s younger group is positioned to come back with a chance to build on its mistakes rather than remember them.