Personal Fight, Purposeful Play: Coach Baguskis Leads Moriarty into ‘Dig Pink’ Night

MORIARTY, N.M. — When the Moriarty High School volleyball team takes the court on Oct. 27, the match will represent much more than district standings.

The Lady Pintos will host their annual “Dig Pink” night against Española Valley, turning the gymnasium into a sea of pink to raise breast cancer awareness and support the Side-Out Foundation. For Moriarty head coach Michael Baguskis, the cause strikes right at the heart of home and local sports history.

Baguskis is a cancer survivor, and his wife’s (Jana) father was the late Joe Bailey, a revered, longtime coach in the Moriarty community who passed away from cancer. During the event, the program will conduct its traditional “Circle of Survivors” between the junior varsity and varsity matches.

“Dig Pink is pretty special and important to my family because I’m a cancer survivor, and my wife’s dad passed away from cancer,” Baguskis said. “We’ll both be walking in there and honoring each other. It can be emotional, but we just want to honor those people that have fought and those people that we don’t have anymore.”

Each player has been asked to invite a community or family member to take part in the 10-minute ceremony. In the weeks leading up to the match, the team has taken the initiative off the court, selling T-shirts and merchandise to raise funds directly for the Side-Out Foundation.

“The girls did a really, really great job of getting out there and selling those for us, so we can make an impact not only by playing, but giving back,” Baguskis said.

The upcoming tribute follows a competitive home battle against Los Alamos. While the Hilltoppers claimed the match, Baguskis noted that his young squad showed significant growth and resilience compared to earlier outings in the week.

Moriarty opened the match sticking closely to its scouting report, bringing sharp energy and purpose onto the floor. However, Los Alamos capitalized in the second set, seizing momentum as the Lady Pintos experienced a brief letdown.

“I thought we had a game plan and we went with the game plan,” Baguskis said. “Second set, we just let it slip away a little bit. Showed our youth. But it was a good turnaround from Tuesday’s match. They put in the effort and the intensity that we ask them to do.”

Rather than fracturing when Los Alamos surged, Moriarty stayed united. Baguskis credited a deliberate emphasis on team chemistry during a school-free day earlier in the week, when the team gathered for a home-cooked brunch before heading to the gym.

“We talk to them about a team-first mentality a lot,” Baguskis said. “Even in warmups, we could tell there was a difference out there. The girls, I ask them to watch film, and they come in with homework. Some girls have sheets and sheets of what we can take advantage of. It’s a learning process, and to have effort the whole time — that’s success to us.”

With a rematch against Los Alamos still on the schedule later this season, the Lady Pintos will first shift their focus to Española Valley on Oct. 27, carrying both their tactical progress and a deeply personal community mission onto the floor.