Scoping the competition

When it comes to a 16-team playoff in New Mexico, some of the higher seeds aren't often familiar with the lower ones they'll have to play in the first round.

Joshua Lucero: Portales News-Tribune correspondent

Portales second baseman Brandon Lovato catches a ground ball to get Texico's Jarron Hill out at second base in the top of the third inning of a Rams' game against Texico April 19 at Ram baseball field.

That's certainly the case for the Portales softball and baseball teams this weekend as the squads have searched high and low, at least on the New Mexico Activities Association website, for information.

But when it comes right down to it...

"I don't know a lot about them," said Portales softball coach Robbie Crowley of the 16th-seeded Wingate Bears. "They don't enter a lot on the Activities website. I think they're shorthanded a little bit, but we've got to play the game and our girls will be ready."

"We just kind of looked at the website and all we can do is compare scores — but we don't really have anything direct," said Portales baseball coach Arturo Ontiveros of first-round opponent Hot Springs, the 14th-seeded team in the Class 3A draw.

The baseball best-of-three series between No. 3 Portales (20-6) and Hot Springs (11-15) will begin with a single game tonight at 6 p.m. The Rams and Tigers have two more games scheduled starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.

For Class 3A's top-ranked softball team, the Lady Rams will take on Wingate at 3 p.m. today.

Rather than focus on what she doesn't know about the visiting Bears, Crowley is instead going with the regular game plan that has brought her team to a 24-1 record this season.

Kelsey Laurenz, who has pitched every game for the Lady Rams both this season and last, will go against Wingate (4-16). Laurenz, her sister Simone Laurenz and Sorina Flores also have each socked five homers each in the current campaign. Flores, with a .548 average, also has driven in 42 runs to lead Portales.

"They've been kind of on a mission. I think, after losing in the (3A) championship game, the girls have had a bad taste in their mouth for a whole year," Crowley said. "It seems like every highlight we had, every big hit we had, it was a different kid."

While the softball is a single-game elimination, the opening round of the Class 3A baseball playoffs has some leeway for mistakes. Whoever loses on Friday night can still redeem themselves provided that they win both games on Saturday.

Portales is led at the plate by David Rodriguez and Ryan Schmidt, who each have batting averages over .400 this year.

They're also among the pitchers that the Rams will turn to in the best-of-three series.

"We've got about four or five guys who can throw," Ontiveros said. "We'll go with our bread-and-butter, Jesus Acosta and David Rodriguez, in the first two games and then, if we go three, we've got Zach Blaeser, Ryan Schmidt and Daniel Zapata to go to."