Volcano Vista shocks 2-seed La Cueva, wins metro softball title

2026 APS Metro Softball Championships 1st-place: (4) Volcano Vista 11, (2) La Cueva 1 3rd-place: (3) Rio Rancho 6, (1) Cibola 4 5th-place: (6) Cleveland 8, (5) Sandia 1 7th-place: (8) St. Pius 18, (10) Eldorado 9 9th-place: (7) Albuquerque High 7, (9) Atrisco Heritage 5 11th-place: (11) West Mesa 11, (12) Los Alamos 8 13th-place: (13) Valley 16, (14) Rio Grande 11 15th-place: (16) Del Norte 14, (15) Manzano 9 The Hawks have returned to their perch atop the metro. With five home runs from as many players, fourth-seeded Volcano Vista never trailed in an 11-1 upset win over No.

2 La Cueva on Saturday for the program’s first metro tournament title under head coach Melody Smith. Jewel Candelaria’s game-high three hits keyed an offensive effort that saw the Hawks outhit the Bears 14-7 at La Cueva. The junior also hit the first of Volcano Vista’s five homers, staking her team to a 3-0 lead in the second inning before Breanna Griego, Audrianna Jim, Luciana Apodaca and Genevieve Tapia cleared the fence.

Entering Saturday, La Cueva (5-4) had won the last three metro tournaments. The Hawks (10-3) downed top-seeded Cibola on Friday to clinch a spot in the metro championship under Smith, Volcano Vista’s first-year coach and a former standout at Artesia. “This (result) is definitely announcing (that) this group of girls is impeccable,” she said.

“They are amazing. They work so well together, they work so hard and they have fun together. That makes it even better.