By JT Keith

The Artesia Bulldogs finished undefeated in district baseball competition, landed the No. 1 seed for the 4-4A state playoffs and now have their sights set on winning the 2025 Nusenda Credit Union State Championships next week in Albuquerque.

“Our goal has always been to win state … winning the district is a huge advantage in seeding,” said Artesia coach Jackson Bickel. Earning the top seed entitled Artesia to a first-round playoff game at home against an opponent that’s seeded 16th.

The Bulldogs (20-6 overall, 9-0 district) come into the state tournament on a nine-game winning streak.

The Bulldogs’ pursuit of the Blue Trophy begins at 7 p.m. Friday at the Mack Chase Sports Complex when they host No. 16 Bernalillo (11-14 overall, 3-5 District 6- 4A).

If they defeat the Spartans, the Bulldogs will advance to the state tournament quarterfinals May 15 in Albuquerque.

Artesia played nine games against District 5A teams such as Mayfield, Carlsbad and Hobbs this season, winning four of them, and Bickel believes that experience will help the Bulldogs in the postseason.

“Those games forced us to compete at a high level early and exposed things we needed to clean up before district play,” Bickel said. “It was exactly what we needed.”

Here are Bickel’s three keys to defeating the Bernalillo Spartans.

1. Play Clean, Disciplined Baseball: Bickel said this time of the season is about limiting mistakes, particularly on defense and on the basepaths. “Clean baseball wins in May,” he said.

2. Control the Tempo on the Mound: Artesia’s pitchers need to get ahead early, work efficiently and trust the defense behind them, the coach said: “If we command the zone and keep hitters off balance, we put ourselves in position to win every game.”

3. Stay Locked into the Moment: The Bulldogs’ biggest strength is their ability to battle through tough situations, Bickel said. Doing that, he said, means focusing on one pitch, one at-bat, one inning at a time: “Our team’s mentality all season has been ‘don’t flinch, next pitch.’ Stay in the moment, focus on what you can control and trust your work. That’s been our identity all year.”