Todd Fuqua

El Rito Media

tfuqua@elritomedia.com

ALBUQUERQUE – Artesia’s baseball team needed timely hitting in the fifth inning to break a 3-3 tie and earn the Class 4A state championship with a 6-3 victory over Bloomfield April 17 at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex.

After allowing the Bobcats (24-7) to tie the game in the top of the fourth, Artesia (25-6) rapped out five hits in the bottom of the fifth and scored three runs to retake the lead.

Jett Fuentes delivered the game-winning run batted in with a double to left field that scored Frankie Galindo, who had doubled to lead off the inning.

“I’m proud of everyone for fighting until the end,” Fuentes said. “Now that we’re champions, it feels great to have my family here, supporting me all the way. It was amazing.”

Artesia starter Diego Morales pitched a shutout through three innings but had to get himself out of a few early jams as the Bobcats had the bases loaded in the first inning and runners on the corners with no outs in the third. Each time, the Bulldogs got the strikeout, grounder or fly ball they needed to keep Bloomfield from scoring.

Artesia drew first blood in the second inning after Brant Usherwood was hit by a pitch and scored on a triple by Jett Whitmire. Whitmire then came home on Derrick Warren’s single to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

The lead grew to 3-0 in the third inning when Galindo was hit by a pitch and scored on an RBI single by Jack Byers.

That score held up until the Bobcats pushed across three runs in the top of the fourth on five hits, including doubles by Cable Carruth, Johnny Yates and Troy Jaramillo. Morales struck out Damien Jaramillo and Gavin Pecotte to stop the bleeding, and the Bobcats were scoreless the rest of the way, setting the stage for the Bulldogs’ three-run rally in the fifth.

Artesia coach Jackson Bickel helped Morales clear his mind, the pitcher said.

“He just told me to keep my head straight, and I had to have confidence in myself that I could do this,” Morales said. “I had to get outs one by one, focus on the first one, then the next one.”

Charlie Campbell came on in relief in the top of the seventh and struck out the side to secure the state title for the Bulldogs.

“I have 110 percent confidence in Charlie,” Morales said. “I was nervous because it’s a state championship game, but I knew Charlie could get it done.”

This was Bickel’s first year as a head coach, and he was appreciative the team responded to his leadership at the start of the season.

“We just needed to teach the mindset of this team,” Bickel said. “We reminded them about what it means to have the Bulldog name across their chests. There’s a whole lot of tradition there.”

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Class 4A state championship

May 17, 2025

at Albuquerque

Bulldogs 6, Bobcats 3

Bloomfield 000 300 0 – 3 7 0

Artesia 021 030 x – 6 12 0

Cable Carruth, Elias Munoz (5) and Manuel Chaviarria. Diego Morales, Charlie Campbell (7) and Brant Usherwood. W – Morales. L – Carruth. 3B – Art, Jett Whitmire. 2B – Blo, Troy Jaramillo, Johnny Yates, Cable Carruth; Art, Frankie Galindo, Jett Fuentes. SB – Art, Galindo, Derrick Warren, Campbell. LOB – Blo 7, Art 5.

Todd Fuqua is Assistant Editor for the Alamogordo News and can be reached on Instagram at @toadfox1.