Softball seedings released

PORTALES — The Portales Rams are heading to Rio Rancho as the No. 6 seed in the Class 4A softball playoffs.

The Rams (17-9) will face 11th-seeded East Mountain in a 10:30 a.m. Thursday contest at Cleveland High School, with the winner facing third-seeded Cobre at 2:30 p.m.

The Class 4A field includes 12 teams. The top four seeds — Silver, Bernalillo, Cobre and Robertson — receive byes into an eight-team double elimination bracket.

The remaining eight face play-in games. Silver hosts the winner between No. 8 Shiprock and No. 9 Navajo Prep, Bernalillo gets the winner of No. 5 Santa Fe Indian and No. 12 Hatch Valley and Robertson faces either No. 7 West Las Vegas or No. 10 Hope Christian.

First-round winners move on to 8:30 a.m. Friday second-round games, also at Cleveland, while the losers enter the loser-out consolation bracket starting 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

The bracket is advantageous to top seeds and to any team that reaches the title game undefeated. A top-four seed can reach the championship by going 3-0 while a play-in team needs to go 4-0 to reach the noon Saturday championship at the University of New Mexico. That team could then take the title by winning either the first game or the second “if necessary” game against the consolation bracket champ.

A team that loses its first-round matchup, meanwhile, has to run off six consecutive wins for the championship — four loser-out consolation bracket games, followed by a pair of wins Saturday in the championship.

Trio make baseball field — Three local schools received bids in the eight-team small-school baseball playoff bracket, but there would have to be an upset to see any local battles in the Albuquerque metro area.

Defending champion Melrose is the third seed, while Dora is seventh and Floyd eighth. The Buffaloes and Coyotes could meet in the second round, provided Melrose tops sixth-seeded Jemez Valley in a 10 a.m. Wednesday contest at Rio Rancho High School and Dora upsets second-seeded Mora in a 7 p.m. Wednesday game at RRHS.

On the other side of the bracket, the Broncos face top-seeded Mesilla Valley in a 1 p.m. game at RRHS, followed by the 4-5 game between Gateway Christian and Cimarron.

The semifinals are Thursday at Cleveland High School, times TBA, and the title game is 9 a.m. Friday at Isotopes Park.