After the Rio Rancho and Cleveland high school softball teams put the wraps on their District 1-5A finishes – champs and runners-up, respectively – they waited until Sunday evening to see where they were slotted for the state tournament.
The Rams (18-8), defeating Volcano Vista 8-4 on a windy day in Northwest Albuquerque, received the 5 seed and will be home Friday at 3 p.m. to meet No. 12 Roswell (16-10).
The defending-champion Storm (19-6), whipping visiting Atrisco Heritage Academy 8-2 on Senior Night, got the 6 seed and will be back at the Shockyards Friday at 6 p.m. to meet No. 11 Farmington (18-8).
Winners of the first round advance into the best-of-three tournament, contested except for the Lobo Field championship game, at Cleveland High.
Other first-round games are No. 16 Sandia (13-11) at No. 1 Carlsbad (25-1); No. 15 Cibola (13-11) at No. 2 Centennial; No. 14 Manzano (17-9) at No. 3 Alamogordo (21-5); No. 13 Atrisco Heritage Academy (15-9) at No. 4 La Cueva (18-6); No. 10 Volcano Vista (15-8) at No. 7 Hobbs (17-9); and No. 9 Piedra Vista (17-9) at No. 8 Mayfield (18-8).
The Rams have defeated the quartet of 1-5A rivals and lost to La Cueva and Hobbs, with their lone district loss to the Storm, this season.
The Storm are “more familiar” with the 5A field: They have also beaten their 1-5A foes, and have wins over Mayfield, La Cueva, Manzano and Roswell, but have lost to Carlsbad and Farmington, plus district foes Rio Rancho and Atrisco Heritage Academy.
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