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Mayfield survives Storm, Bulldawgs punish Panthers in 5A
TL;DR
No. 1 Mayfield defeated No. 5 Cleveland in a thrilling 5A quarterfinal, scoring four runs in the sixth inning. They will face No. 10 Las Cruces in the semifinals after Las Cruces' victory over No. 6 Piedra Vista.
Key points
- Mayfield is the top seed in the Class 5A state softball tournament
- Mayfield scored four runs in the sixth inning to win against Cleveland
- Las Cruces defeated Piedra Vista 14-5 in the quarterfinals
MayfieldClevelandLas CrucesPiedra Vista
No. 1 Mayfield survived the Storm Thursday at Cleveland High School.
The top seed in the Class 5A state softball tournament posted a four-run bottom of the sixth inning to rally past No. 5 Cleveland on their home field in a back-and-forth quarterfinal.
The Trojans (27-2) got home runs from Jayleen Ponce, Ausaundra Roberto and Ariana Lujan.
They play No. 10 Las Cruces at noon Friday at Cleveland in the semifinals.
Las Cruces (17-12) beat No. 6 Piedra Vista, 14-5, on Thursday. While the Bulldawgs were swept by Mayfield in the regular season, in the state tournament the 10 seed has wins over the 2, 6 and 7 seeds.
Cleveland faces three-straight elimination games to get to a Saturday championship, starting with No. 2 Alamogordo at 9:30 a.m. on Friday.
In other 5A action Thursday, Centennial ended Los Lunas' season, 11-1, and Alamogordo beat Organ Mountain, 14-8.
2026 CLASS 5A SOFTBALL BRACKET
Class 4A
It's a No. 1 vs. No. 2 semifinal showdown at Cleveland High School at noon Friday between top-seeded Artesia (25-4) and Aztec (21-5).
Artesia slapped 17 hits, including a Kayden Apodaca home run to go along with her pitching shutout in a 6-0 win over No. 6 Lovington on Thursday. Aztec advanced with an 11-4 win over No. 3 Silver, including a Kayci Phillips home run.
In Friday morning’s first set of elimination games, Silver faces No. 9 Goddard and Lovington faces either No. 11 Belen/No. 7 Kirtland Central.
2026 CLASS 4A SOFTBALL BRACKET
Class 3A
Top seed West Las Vegas continued to steamroll into Friday's championship series with a 5-0 win over No. 2 Dexter on Thursday at Los Altos Park.
Superstar sophomore Malie Satete was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. In the circle, last season’s New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year — as a freshman — struck out 14 in the shutout.
And the payoff? A rematch with defending state champion Cobre. The No. 4 seed ended Dexter's season Thursday afternoon with a 1-0 win and will try to avenge Wednesday's 3-2 quarterfinal loss to West Las Vegas.
Friday's 3A championship series is at noon at the UNM Softball Field with an if-necessary Game 2 at 4 p.m.
2026 CLASS 3A SOFTBALL BRACKET
Class 1A/2A
In a rematch of last year's 1A/2A championship, No. 1 Loving will look for blue trophy number 22 and its fourth-consecutive title, while No. 3 Hozho Academy seeks its first championship.
Loving (21-3) beat No. 8 Jal 8-1 on Thursday and Hohzo Academy (27-4) won three-straight elimination games — 13-12 over Capitan, 12-9 over Eunice and 14-12 over Jal — to get to the championship series, which is at noon at UNM on Friday. The if-necessary game is at 2 p.m.
2026 CLASS 1A/2A SOFTBALL BRACKET
Reach Geoff Grammer at or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
Q&A
What was the final score of the Mayfield vs. Cleveland softball game?
The final score of the Mayfield vs. Cleveland game was not specified, but Mayfield rallied with a four-run sixth inning to win.
Who did Mayfield softball team play in the semifinals of the 5A state tournament?
Mayfield will play against No. 10 Las Cruces in the semifinals of the 5A state tournament.
How did Las Cruces perform in their quarterfinal game?
Las Cruces defeated No. 6 Piedra Vista with a score of 14-5 in their quarterfinal game.