Buffs, Broncos meet in semifinals

A couple of reasons exist for Floyd not wanting to see Melrose in the Class 1A baseball state semifinals today at Manzano High School in Albuquerque.

"Well, you kind of like to stay away from your friends, if you can, until the last game of the season if possible," Floyd coach Darwin Chenault said of the clash between District 3-1A rivals.

But there is another reason too, even though nearly every recent statistic seems to suggest the Broncos (18-6, 11-1 district) shouldn't have any concern about the Buffaloes from up the road.

"We're not happy that we're playing Melrose," Chenault said. "It's not that we're scared of playing them, but you know — sooner or later …"

CMI correspondent: Joshua LuceroFloyd shortstop Reyes Chavez throws to first for an out during last Wednesday's Class 1A state quarterfinal game against the Gateway Christian Warriors at Floyd. The Broncos advanced with a 5-4 victory over the Warriors.

Floyd has beaten Melrose (16-7, 8-4) in each of three prior meetings this season. In fact, the Buffs are on a five-year losing streak against the Broncos.

In a doubleheader earlier this year at home, Floyd got out to leads in both games and cruised to a sweep. But, in Melrose, the Buffs actually led 5-0 before Floyd tied with five runs in the sixth and blasted forward to a 14-9 win thanks to nine runs in the seventh.

And now comes a state semifinal, with the winner taking on the victor of the Capitan/Questa matchup on the other side of the bracket in Thursday's 1 p.m. championship game at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque.

The youthful Melrose squad, which has four eighth-graders starting, already pulled off one upset when the sixth-seeded Buffs bounced third-seed McCurdy out of the postseason with an 18-6 win last week.

Melrose will likely start Brian Hemminger on the mound, and coach Drooper Greenwalt hopes he can get four or five good innings out of the sophomore. The Buffs' hitting attack is led by catcher Aaron Dearing, with a .696 batting average, while three eighth-graders — shortstop Keaton Greenwalt, first baseman Rowdy Allen and center fielder Wyatt Williams — are all batting above .500 this season.

Floyd, seeded second and a 5-4 winner over Gateway Christian in the quarterfinals, has youth of its own in eighth-grade hurler Jose Tores. But look for the Broncos, more likely, to go with either senior Caleb Martin or junior Reyes Chavez on the mound against their district rivals.

Though a possible state championship contest looms the next day, neither team plans on saving anything.

"I'm not," Drooper Greenwalt said. "I'm going a it. We'll use everything we've got and then we'll patch it up if we make it past this game."

Texico faces East Mountain — The Texico Wolverines play East Mountain today in a 2:30 p.m. Class 2A quarterfinal game today at Rio Rancho Cleveland High School.

Texico (14-12), seeded fifth, got a go-ahead grand slam and five RBIs from D.J. Griego and advanced with a 9-5 win over Estancia in a round-of-16 game last Wednesday while the fourth-seeded Timberwolves (21-3) struggled past No. 13 Pecos 2-1.

The winner meets either No. 9 seed New Mexico Military or top-seeded Eunice in a noon semifinal on Thursday at Cleveland. The championship game is set for 1 p.m. Friday at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque.