JT Keith 
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com

The only thing Artesia needed for a rematch with Silver City and a chance to win the District 4-4A state softball championship was a shutout inning against the Lovington Wildcats. 

The Lady ’Dogs took a 10-9 extra-inning lead into the bottom of the eighth after Lovington tied Friday’s consolation bracket playoff game at 9-9 in the bottom of the sixth and Artesia answered with the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth. 

But in the bottom of the eighth, Zabri Rodriguez delivered a two-run, walk-off single for an 11-10 Lovington victory that sent Artesia home and sent the Wildcats to Saturday’s title game against Silver. 

Silver defeated Lovington 7-0 to win the state championship. 

Pulido said her team, which at one point led Lovington 9-4, made defensive mistakes that allowed the Wildcats to tie the score. 

“Losing that game was hard,” Pulido said. “It was especially hard for the seniors. That’s not how you want your senior year to end. As we stood in right field, I told them this wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but not to hang their heads, they should be proud of how far they’ve come and their growth this season. I am proud of them.” 

How they got there 

Artesia had defeated Lovington 7-2 in the quarterfinals on Thursday before dropping into the consolation bracket with a 5-1 loss to Silver in the semifinals on Friday. 

“After losing to Silver,” Pulido said, “we had to play Lovington again, 20-30 minutes later, for the fifth time this season. The girls were upset by the loss to Silver, as is expected. I told them, ‘We have to reset, we can’t change what happened, we have to pick each other up, move forward, and continue to play together.'” 

Growth in the team 

Artesia came into the 2025 season in rebuilding mode after losing 10 seniors to graduation, Pulido said. It was a different rebuild compared to previous seasons as nine players moved up from junior varsity. 

The season wasn’t what many expected – it was better, Pulido said, as the team faced adversity and setbacks that led to growth for each of her players. 

“Growth is important,” Pulido said. “If we are not challenged, we cannot grow as players, coaches and people. Our goal is for the girls in our program to leave as better people than when they were here. The wins are a bonus.” 

Heartbreaking loss 

Pulido said one of the obstacles the team had to deal with was losing senior Makayla Lujan, who injured her leg the week before district play started. 

“It was heartbreaking to know that was how her career ended,” Pulido said. “But I believe it changed her perspective on many things and made her a better teammate. Her leadership role moved from the field to the dugout, and she was still able to be a game changer for us.” 

jtkeith can be reached at 575-420-0061, or on X@JTKEITH1