Danny Zuniga

RIO RANCHO — Top-seeded Artesia beat Lovington 6-0 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2026 NMAA state softball championships at Cleveland High School, sending the Bulldogs to the semifinals.

Artesia set the tone early and kept pressure on Lovington throughout the game. The Bulldogs finished with 17 hits, and Danyela Munoz reached base four times and scored twice. Isabel Cruz added three hits and an RBI as Artesia continued to put runners on and force Lovington to work from behind. Lovington finished its season at 16-13.

Artesia improved to 25-4 and recorded its eighth shutout of the season, including its second against Lovington this year.

Kayden Apodaca led Artesia with a seven-inning shutout and six strikeouts. She also hit a home run and drove in two runs.

“Kayden was phenomenal in the circle,” Artesia coach Sandra Pulido said. “She was throwing the ball hard, and our defense backed her up.”

The victory was Artesia’s 17th in a row and continued the form that carried the Bulldogs through district play and into the postseason. Artesia had already beaten Bloomfield and Goddard in earlier state tournament games, and Thursday’s win over Lovington moved the Bulldogs one step closer to a state title. With Apodaca controlling the game in the circle and the lineup producing steady contact, Artesia again looked like one of the top teams in Class 4A.

“We had to make sure we played our game and made adjustments at the plate,” Pulido said. “Some girls were struggling early, but they adjusted. They went to small ball, put the ball in play, and made the defense work.”

Artesia will face No. 2 seed Aztec, which is 21-5, at noon Friday at Cleveland High School. The winner will advance to Saturday’s state championship game at the University of New Mexico.

JT Keith

Champions don’t always show up in the trophy presentation. Sometimes they show up in the decision — the one made when playing it safe would have been the easy move. Artesia sophomore Beau Byers faced that moment in the Class 4A state golf tournament, and he didn’t blink.

Byers finished second at state for the second straight year, one shot behind Albuquerque Academy’s Thomas Whitten — the same player Byers tied for third with a season ago.

The situation was simple on the 18th hole: Byers and Whitten were tied. A par likely keeps him in it. A birdie wins it outright.

Artesia coach Tristan Bowden said he asked Byers what he wanted to do. Byers didn’t hesitate.

“I’m going to make birdie to win,” Byers told him.

Byers didn’t get the tee shot he wanted, but he still played the hole with the flag in mind. He reached the green in three and finished with a bogey — the kind that stings when a title is sitting right there.

Bowden said Byers was upset in the moment, but his perspective showed up later on the bus ride home. Bowden said Byers called it a learning experience and said he knows what he has to do to get better and win it next year.

That mindset is exactly what Bowden wants from his golfers — playing to win instead of playing not to lose.

“I want that out of all of my kids,” Bowden said. “I don’t want them to hold back. It would have been easy for him to just make par, but he wanted to win it on the 18th hole in front of a big crowd — about 100 people.”

Byers finished second individually at 149 after rounds of 78 and 71. Whitten won the title at 148.

“I know Beau felt disappointed with the finish,” Bowden said, “but he gained a lot of knowledge on that last hole.”

And that’s the point worth celebrating when the moment asked for caution, Byers chose conviction. The result will fuel an offseason, but the approach — going for the win with everything on the line — is already championship stuff.

JT Keith Artesia Daily Press 

Artesia moved into the quarterfinals of the 2026 Nusenda Credit Union State Softball Championships after a 4-0 win over Bloomfield on Friday and an 8-2 victory over Goddard on Saturday at Mack Chase Sports Complex.

“The biggest thing I told our team was to make sure we were playing our game,” Artesia coach Sandra Pulido said after Saturday’s win.

Pulido said rankings don’t matter once the tournament starts. Bloomfield proved that by holding the Lady Bulldogs to four runs, but Artesia controlled both games and never trailed.

Artesia (24-4, 9-0 District 4-4A) has won 16 straight and will face Lovington in the quarterfinals at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 14, at Cleveland High School on Field One.

The Bulldogs swept Lovington in the regular season, winning 15-5 and 12-11 at home on April 17 and taking the third meeting 4-0 on the road.

The matchup will hinge on how well Artesia handles eighth-grade pitcher Jezarae Quiroga, who owns a 3.48 ERA and has settled in as the season has progressed. Defensively, Artesia will need to keep sophomore Johanna Ochoa (.448), senior Zemarie Ellis and freshman Leslie Corral (.388) off the bases.

Lovington (16-12, 5-4 District 4-4A) has played spoiler before. Last season, the Wildcats lost three times to Artesia in the regular season but stunned the Bulldogs 11-10 in the state semifinals. Lovington went on to fall to eventual champion Silver.

Pulido said seeing Lovington three times this spring helps with preparation, especially with the statistics and tendencies already in hand. The teams have met in the state semifinals each of the past three years.

“We are excited and proud of our team for advancing to the quarterfinals,” Pulido said. “It was not an easy weekend, and that is why we take it one day at a time.”

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

 JT Keith

The Blue Trophy rode home to Artesia this week, cradled a little tighter than most hardware. A year after watching Albuquerque Academy walk away with it, the Bulldogs carried the memory of that finish through long practices, longer rounds, and one more chance to get it right.

“Our kids were upset because they lost to Academy last year,” Bulldogs coach Tristan Bowden said. “They knew what we could do. They felt like we could beat Academy last year. We came back and reloaded. It was awesome.”

Artesia entered the postseason playing its best of the spring, then hit a bump during district play against Lovington — a reminder that nothing is promised over 18 holes. The Bulldogs regrouped and carried a sharper edge into the state meet.

Before Monday’s opening round, Bowden kept the message simple: play like the better team and leave no doubt about who belonged at No. 1.

After Day 1, Artesia trailed by five strokes, 318-313, and nobody flinched. Monday night, Bowden gathered the five golfers, handed each a specific job, and tried to shrink the moment: beat your matchup by five strokes, one swing at a time.

“I told our team, ‘Let’s go do it,’” Bowden said. “All we have to do is beat three of their five guys. Our top guy beat their top guy by 12 shots.”

This year, the roles reversed. Artesia posted a two-day team score of 623 to win the Blue Trophy, while Albuquerque Academy finished at 634.

On Day 2, the Bulldogs erased the deficit early and traded the lead into the closing stretch. Then, over the final holes, they created breathing room — building an 11-stroke advantage that finally let the celebration feel real.

Artesia’s Beau Byers finished second individually at 149, shooting 78 on Day 1 and 71 on Day 2. He was one stroke behind Albuquerque Academy’s Thomas Whitten (148).

“I know Beau was disappointed with the finish,” Bowden said, “but he learned a lot on that last hole.”

Artesia placed four golfers in the top 20. Senior Steven Williams finished 10th with a 157, and Jack Byers was 11th at 158. Joel Ochoa posted a 160 to take 14th, and freshman Locklyn Gray placed 19th with a 164.

One of the surprises was Gray, a freshman whom Bowden spotted in the school hallways and recruited on the spot. When Bowden asked if he was ready to play, Gray didn’t hesitate.

Gray had been near the top of Artesia’s lineup most of the season, but his 84 on Day 1 didn’t count toward the team total. On Day 2, he answered with a 79 — matching Jack Byers — and helped the Bulldogs pull away.

“I know he didn’t have the season he really wanted,” Bowden said. “But he came out and played really well for us the second day. He had something to prove, and I was proud of him.”

The title was the Bulldogs’ third in program history, joining the 2007 and 2017 championships. The senior class has now won state titles in football and golf this school year and finished as the state runner-up in basketball. Baseball and track were still to be decided on May 15-16.

Bowden said much of the work happens out of public view. A tournament day can stretch more than six hours, with warmups, waiting, and the steady focus it takes to start over after every swing — even when the last one didn’t go as planned.

Talking about Tuesday’s team banquet, Bowden paused, his voice catching as the week finally slowed down enough to feel it.

“It was a really good feeling,” Bowden said. “It was nice to see the smiles on our kids’ faces and know the hard work paid off. This is special — especially because I’ve coached these seniors in other sports.”