Sandia Baseball

The Sandia baseball program is happy to announce that Marc Hilton returns to his alma mater as head coach. Hilton is just the 9th head coach in Sandia’s storied history.

Hilton’s most recent tenure was at West Mesa High School, where he earned his 300th win in 2022. Before that, Hilton led the St. Pius Sartans to a successful 17 year stint, capped by 2 state titles (2003, 2013). Hilton was named NM Head Coach of the Year 3 times (2001, 2003, 2013).

UP NEXT: La Cueva Thursday at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex!

📸 from yesterday’s 13-10 win over Los Lunas!

P/c Katrina Mobley

Survive and advance. La Cueva up next!

Join us on this beautiful Saturday for game 2 of the state tournament, today at 11! Admission is free.

It’s gameday! First pitch at 4.

For the second straight year in a row, each of our teams finished with a winning record in the regular season!

Varsity: 17-9
Junior Varsity: 15-3
“C” Team: 6-5

Special thank you to Maureen Hendrick for painting a new design on our home dugout, and renewing the classic “S”!

More 📸 from our senior day! Thank you Katrina Mobley for taking photos of our seniors.

Your Class 5A baseball bracket! We take on Los Lunas in the first round matchup (best of 3 format for the first round). The first round will take place at John D. Gunther field.

Game one Friday will be 4pm. Saturday game time will be 11am. If needed, a third game will be played following the second game.

Thank you, seniors, your your commitment to the program over the past 4 years. We wish you the best in your future endeavors!

Danny Santiago
Nico Barela
Aaron Ortiz
Jameer Meadows
Damien Talamantes
Elijah Bustillos
Trevor Martinez
Aaron Ortiz
Tommy Priddy

WEEKDAY RECAP: Varsity drops a tough one to Rio Grande, JV defeats St. Pius, and C-team finishes their season with a win!

UP NEXT: Senior day at John D. Gunther field on Saturday against WM. Game times are 10 and 12. JV is at WM, game times 10 and 12.

Program sweep‼️

UP NEXT: C-team closes their season against Eldorado on Monday… JV plays Tuesday at St. Pius… Varsity plays at Rio Grande.

WEEKDAY RECAP: JV shuts out Menaul/Oak Grove with a 10-0 win, while C-team defeats West Mesa 14-3!

UP NEXT: Trip to Farmington tomorrow to play Piedra Vista. V/JV first pitch at 12 and 2.

UP NEXT: JV faces Menaul/Oak Grove Tuesday, C-team plays West Mesa Monday

UP NEXT: La Cueva tomorrow!

After a tough start to the week (Varsity loss to Clovis 13-11 and C-team loss to La Cueva 12-2) the program bounces back with a sweep of Eldorado!

UP NEXT: C-team battles Rio Rancho on Tuesday, and JV plays Rio Grande on Wednesday. Both games start at 4.

C-Team defeats Albuquerque High 14-4!

‘Nuff said!

Hank Paskiewicz, winningest baseball coach in Sandia’s history, inducted into the hall of fame! Thank you, Hank, for all that you did for our program and community.

We are bringing back the 3rd Annual Gunther 5K Run/Walk in memory of former SHS Teacher, SHS Baseball Coach, Marathon Runner, and Community Servant, John D. Gunther. Our SHS baseball field was named after John D. Gunther at our 1st Annual Gunther Walk/Run in 2018 and we aspire to bring back this tradition after years of postponement.

While he battled a terminal diagnosis of cancer, John continued to dedicate himself to helping others. We encourage our community to come out and walk/run this event with a purpose in mind. Your walk/run can be dedicated to any struggle that you or a loved one might be facing or faced and overcame. For example, dedicating your walk/run for a loved one fighting cancer, or the loss of a loved one to cancer. Walkers or runners may also dedicate their walk/run to a mental health struggle, or any other struggle they or their loved ones might be facing. We also encourage participants to walk/run to show unity and support for their club or sports team.

MID WEEK RECAP: Strong outings by C-team with a 17-9 win over AHS and a 13-3 win over WMHS. Freshman Forrest Duke goes 4-4, and freshman Zach Bruggeman goes 5-4 over two games. Freshman Tomas Velasquez goes 3IP, giving up 1 earned in Monday’s game.

UP NEXT: District begins for V/JV. Farmington Scorpions visit varsity at John D. Gunther field, and JV plays at Cibola. Game times are 12 and 2.

SAL PUENTES DAY 3 - Sandia crushes the Valley Vikings 15-5. Sophomore Adriel Figueroa-Brito has a 2 hit, 4 RBI day. Senior Trevor Martinez with a strong 2 hit, 3 RBI day.

UP NEXT: Varsity/JV play again next Saturday… C-team with a busy week, playing M/W/F

SAL PUENTES - DAY 2: Matadors drop one in a rematch of the 2022 state title. Senior Jameer Meadows crushes a 2 run HR while senior Justin Peterson started on the bump and held Carlsbad to 4 through 5 innings of work.

UP NEXT: Final day of Sal Puentes… tomorrow at 12:30 vs. VHS

DAY 1 - SAL PUENTES MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT: Sandia beats Artesia, 12-1 at Rio Rancho High School. Senior Damien Talamantes strikes a 3 run home run, while Junior Zach Kmatz pitches a dominant game.

UP NEXT: Tomorrow is day 2 in the Sal Puentes… we face Carlsbad at 4pm at RRHS.

A look at the upcoming 2023 Rio Rancho Sal Puentes tournament! Teams on our side of the bracket include Carlsbad and Cleveland, with our first game against Artesia at 4:00 Thursday.

Tough day for the Matadors. Time to regroup ahead of the Sal Puntes memorial tournament this weekend. JV plays a doubleheader against Rio Rancho tomorrow, starting at 3:30.

METRO DAY 3 UPDATE: Sandia holds off Cibola for a 6-3 win. Adriel Figueroa-Brito has a 3 hit, 2 RBI day.

UP NEXT: Varsity returns to action Monday at 3:30 against St. Pius for the final day of the metro tournament. JV/C team play Cleveland at 3:30, location TBD.

Due to inclement weather, our game is rescheduled for tomorrow at 3:30!

METRO DAY 2 RECAP: Sandia loses a tough one to Cleveland after scoring 2 in the top of the 7th. Junior Zach Kmatz pitches a gem (7 IP, 3 ER).

UP NEXT: Sandia hosts visiting Cibola on Friday. First pitch at 3:30.

We are happy to announce that former head coach, Hank Paskiewicz, has been elected into the 2023 Sandia Hall of Fame. Hank was head coach from 1971 to 1989, compiling a 303-155 record while winning 3 state baseball titles (‘80, ‘79, ‘74). Hank was known by his laid back coaching style, having no off-season workouts or meetings. Hank played professional baseball for the Chicago Cubs from 1949-1955, and moved to Albuquerque, coaching and teaching with APS for 32 years. He was an avid tennis player and enjoyed sports and traveling.

Coach Henry “Hank” Paskiewicz recently passed at the age of 92 in November 2022. Hank is survived by 2 sons, a daughter, 8 grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren. His wife, Dolores, also passed away in 2022 after 68 years of marriage. Thank you, Coach Hank, for your help in Albuquerque Public Schools and mentoring young boys in the Sandia baseball community.

METRO DAY 1 RECAP: A good day of hitting by senior Elijah Bustillos and stellar pitching by fellow senior teammate Damien Talamantes propels Sandia to a 11-1 win over Atrisco Heritage.

UP NEXT: Your Matadors advance to play Cleveland High at 3:30 Wednesday.

The metro baseball tournament begins tomorrow! We are seeded #6, playing our first game against #11 Atrisco Heritage at 3:30 at John D. Gunther Field. Other teams on our side of the bracket include Cleveland, Albuquerque High, Rio Grande, Cibola, Del Norte, and La Cueva.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY RECAP: Varsity and Junior Varsity sweep Albuquerque High. C-Team wins a nail-biter to Rio Rancho.

UP NEXT: Varsity begins the Metro tournament on Monday against Atrisco. Junior Varsity and C-Team both have the week off.

Past, present, and future. The Sandia High School baseball program reaches the milestone of 1,000 wins. Thank you, alumni, players, faculty, and community for your everlasting support of Sandia baseball.

The Matadors with a sweep today over Las Cruces! Armando Serratos with a 2 home run day.

Grubbing for the double header tomorrow against Las Cruces High! (12 and 2pm)

p/c Yaritza Santiago