East Mountain Caps Historic 28-1 Season with 3A Baseball Championship

ALBUQUERQUE — A historic season for the top-ranked East Mountain baseball team ended in the ultimate relief and celebration Saturday afternoon at UNM Lobo Field.

Senior Charlie Birdwell delivered a game-ending home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, capping off a six-run explosion to lift No. 1 East Mountain to a 10-0, run-rule victory over St. Michael’s to claim the Class 3A state championship.

The Timberwolves finished a wire-to-wire run at the top of the rankings with an astronomical 28-1 record, marking the best record in school history. The championship is the second state baseball title for the program, joining the 2012 squad that finished 24-3. St. Michael’s finished its season at 20-8.

“Excitement and relief, excitement and relief,” East Mountain coach Chris Mayo said. “I’ve been telling these boys all week it’s really hard to win a state championship. I’ve been around this game for 40 years. I’ve never been in this position. Some guys, they get to play in it a lot; some, this may be the only time they ever get to touch anything like this.”

While the final score indicated a blowout, the early frames were a tense, defensive battle. St. Michael’s starting pitcher Andre Bryant kept the high-powered Timberwolves off the board through the first two innings, leaving East Mountain hitters on their toes.

The Timberwolves finally cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, stringing together four runs. Ty Rector sparked the offense, finishing the day 2-for-4 with three RBIs, including a crucial double.

On the mound, East Mountain senior ace Luke Stoerner was spectacular, pitching a complete-game, four-hit shutout. However, the victory required Stoerner to navigate out of two high-stakes, bases-loaded jams.

During a pivotal mound visit with pitching coach Jay Pierce, Stoerner was told to slow down.

“He came out there and he said take a deep breath, and it’s as simple as throwing a white ball over a white plate,” Stoerner said, who struck out seven batters over six innings. “When you make it that simple, and you do it for the people that you’ve been playing with since tee ball, I mean, it’s inevitable not to just get out of that.”

Mayo praised his team’s resilience in those moments, noting that his directive was to “just keep putting pressure on, keep taking good at-bats… and fight to move the barrel to the next guy.”

By the bottom of the sixth, the pressure became too much for the Horsemen. After bleeding two more runs to push the lead to 6-0, St. Michael’s turned to reliever Chris Saiz, but the Timberwolves kept rolling.

With runners on, Birdwell stepped up to the plate knowing it could be the final swing of his high school career.

“Aiden [Madrid] told me this might be your last at-bat of your career, so go make it count,” Birdwell said. “I worked on breathing, keeping my heart rate low, so I knew I could punish a pitch that I liked. I was going up there expecting to succeed, and I was visualizing it.”

Birdwell’s visualization became reality. He launched game-ending shot triggering a wild celebration at home plate as the 10-run rule took effect. Birdwell finished the game with four RBIs.

Stoerner, who admitted to feeling some nerves the night before, reflected on the magnitude of the moment for a tight-knit group of seniors.

“Last high school game with my favorite people, I’m going to do it for them, and I’m going to go out there and give it my best,” Stoerner said. “And that’s what I did.”