May 14—RIO RANCHO — The end of the road is never pleasant for a high school team, especially when that end means saying goodbye to a senior class that provided more energy than any coach could have asked for.
That's what made a postgame meeting so difficult for the Santa Fe Indian School baseball team Friday afternoon. With the setting sun casting hard shadows over their circle just outside the right field line at Rio Rancho High's facility, the Braves players and coaches took turns sharing their thoughts on the season that just ended.
SFIS was beaten 7-6 by East Mountain in the semifinals of the Class 3A State Baseball Tournament, a loss that ended what looked and felt like a magic carpet ride from the moment it started nearly two weeks ago.