ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – As the high school baseball team rolls into district play, there is arguably no hotter team than La Cueva. Through 16 games, the Bears are the top ranked team in the state at 14-2 as La Cueva currently boasts a 149 run differential while averaging nearly 13 runs per game.
A winning culture has been established in the program for quite some time. La Cueva is tied for fourth in the state record book with 11 championships, with the most recent coming in 2021. Despite the perennial success, there is an even higher sense of optimism around the 2024 squad.
“We’ve played pretty well, and I’ve mentioned it before, but I think our best baseball is in front of us,” said head coach Gerard Pineda. “We’re still getting better day by day, game by game, but yeah, we like where we are and like where we’re heading.”
“We try to do all of our jobs every time. I mean it’s a unique sport that we play, so got to make sure everyone individually does well but then that also contributes to the team doing well.”
At every level of baseball, much of postseason success comes down to a strong pitching rotation. While the La Cueva offense has been clicking, coach Pineda also believes this year’s pitching staff is his best in recent years. The Bears go around seven guys deep on the mound, and, so far, the Bears have already thrown six shutouts.
“We have a ton of good pitchers, everybody from top to bottom,” senior pitcher Trevor Johnson said. “Growing up I was told defense wins championships, and the more pitchers the better I guess. When pitcher’s put up zeros, its pretty easy to win ball games.”
