Moriarty Faces Must-Win Game Two on Saturday

DEMING — The Deming Wildcats opened their postseason quest with a resilient performance at home Friday, fending off the Moriarty Pintos 15-1 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three opening round series of the 2026 NMAA Class 4A Baseball State Championships.

The No. 4 seeded Wildcats (20-5) relied on their season-long consistency to overcome a gritty Moriarty squad (14-10) in a matchup that featured two of the classification’s most potent offenses.

Tyler Denomme had the Pintos’ lone hit in the contest and Nick Kamplain scored Moriarty’s one run. Sophomore Micah Kamplain  took the loss as he gave up six hits in three innings of work against a veteran Wildcat squad

Deming entered the contest as the favorite, boasting a perfect 9-0 record at home, but the Pintos proved to be a difficult out.

The Wildcats’ Daniel Porras, hitting .508 on the year, continued to be a focal point for an offense that has now won 11 of its last 12 games.

The victory puts Deming just one win away from advancing to the state quarterfinals. The Wildcats have been a force in Class 4A all season, outscoring opponents 227-77 heading into the playoffs.

The series remains in Deming for the duration of the weekend. The two teams will return to the diamond Saturday morning for Game 2 at 11:00 a.m. If Moriarty manages to force a deciding third game, it will be played immediately following at 1:00 p.m.

The winner of the series will move on to the next round of the Nusenda Credit Union State Baseball Championships.