Buffs earn fourth spot in 1A meet

ALBUQUERQUE — And the winner is …

Melrose, Grady and Magdalena were all in contention for the fourth and final spot in this week’s Class 1A state baseball tournament. On Sunday night, the berth went to Melrose (10-7), which earned the third seed and will face second-seeded defending 1A state champion and District 3 rival Logan in a 3 p.m. clash on Friday at Rio Rancho Cleveland H.S.

In the noon semifinal, top-seeded Gateway Christian (14-4) takes on Mesilla Valley (2-9), which got in by virtue of two wins over Magdalena in two-team District 1. The SonBlazers have been outscored for the season 132-57.

Grady (12-6-1) made a case for itself by sweeping the Steers 10-8 and 8-6 last Wednesday at Grady, but the Bronchos finished third in District 3 behind Logan and Melrose and lost the season series to the Buffs 2-1. In addition, Melrose has wins over Logan and Capitan, the No. 3 seed in the 12-team Class 2A state meet.

Semifinal winners advance to Saturday’s 10 a.m. state championship game at Santa Ana Star Field on the campus of the University of New Mexico.

Dora qualifies — The Dora Lady Coyotes earned the No. 7 seed in the 12 team Class 1-2A state softball tournament this week.

Dora (12-10) will face 10th-seeded Capitan (6-14) in a single-elimination first-round game today at Rio Rancho Cleveland. The winner advances to an eight-team, double-elimination bracket and will play second-seeded Tularosa (18-3) at 7 p.m. today.

The championship game is set for 10 a.m. Saturday at the UNM softball field, with a second championship game to follow if necessary.