Steers’ Javen Tafoya belts in-the-park grandslam homer

Javen Tafoya heads to the Magdalena dugout after belting an in-the-park grandslam against Melrose.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain

The Steers opened District 1-1A baseball with a bang against Northwest (Shiprock) on April 15 with a 68-0 doubleheader score that improved Magdalena to 6-3 on the year.

The Steers opened with a 36-0 blanking in game one and turned around and held Northwest scoreless in game two with a 32-0 drubbing of the Falcons (3-8).

The district wins follow a doubleheader split with Melrose (7-1), where the Steers got a complete-game 12-strikeout win from freshmen pitcher Shane Montoya, and Magdalena handed the Buffaloes their first loss of the season.

“Shane came in. He threw strikes. He’s a freshman. He’s consistent. He does his job. If our pitchers throw strikes, we’re good,” Steers head coach Kyl Candelaria said.

Montoya wasn’t the only highlight for Magdalena as sophomore slugger Javen Tafoya bashed an in-the-park grandslam homerun, giving the Steers the breathing room they needed to pound out the win.

“I liked the way we hit the ball, and everybody can put it in play. If our pitchers can come in and throw strikes, and our defense steps up, we will win all our games,” Candelaria said.

Things got away from Magdalena in the second game against Melrose’s hitting, but the matchup was a warmup for district play, where the Steers need to grow up quickly because they have an abbreviated season.

“We lack time together. I mean, I have guys that play everything you know. My basketball guys didn’t arrive until two days before our first game. And then I rely a lot on an eighth-grader and a freshman to get me through games,” Candelaria said. “I have guys that go to track two or three times a week. So, we use ballgames to come together. You know it sucks that we didn’t win (game two), but it’s not that big of a deal because it’s a learning experience for us.”

The eighth-grader Candelaria mentioned is his son, Josiah, and he pitched a two-hit gem against Northwest in the Steers’ second game against the Falcons. Candelaria struck out six batters in four innings of work for the victory.

Tafoya and Joseph Zamora collected five hits each in the first game and accounted for nine RBIs.

Senior Josh Baca issued four strikeouts to pick up the win in the district opener, and sophomore Joseph Zamora added five more in relief. Baca helped his pitching efforts with a five-hit performance at the plate and had four RBIs.