Kofa sweeps Cibola, ends Raiders playoff run

Cibola had one chance to get five runs and make the AIA state playoffs for the ninth straight time.

 Pitcher Justin Gorman and the rest of the Kofa Kings made sure the streak would end Thursday.

 After the Kings scored two more runs in the top of the ninth inning of a game suspended from Wednesday, Cibola went quietly in its half of the ninth, losing 13-9 in the Gila Valley Region contest and ending its playoff streak at eight years.

 With a win, the Raiders (12-16 overall, 4-5 region) likely would have made the postseason. But they entered Thursday trailing Kofa (18-9, 7-2) 11-9 when Travis Carter hit a two-run home run just before the umpires declared the filed too dark to play Wednesday.

 Julio de los Reyes padded the score for the Kings on Thursday with a two-out single up the middle that scored Sergio Sanchez and Jared Helms.

 Gorman, who pitched the eighth inning Wednesday, made quick work of the Raiders in the ninth, allowing only a single before striking out Alex Miranda to end the game and the Raiders' season.

 Kofa had already secured a home playoff game before the win, which finished off a three-game sweep of the Raiders.

 "It's kind of a bittersweet deal," Kofa coach Richy Leon said. "They're our rivals and you love to beat them, but at the same time you'd like our community to be represented by as many teams as possible."

 Carter said the sweep felt good.

 "We're rivals, and it's been a roller coaster for sure," Carter said. "They battle against us; since a sophomore, they battle against us."

 The loss left the Raiders not only out of the postseason, but in a second-place tie in the region with San Luis. Even though the Raiders beat the Sidewinders twice in three games, the Sidewinders earned a postseason trip.

 "It's hard to swallow because every year every team wasn't to make it to state," Evans said. "But the reality is some programs don't get it one year. We have to put it back together and get ready for next year. That's why we play, that's why we practice, that's why we come out here.

 "It is a disappointment, but in life it's a reality," he said. "You can't go every, every year. There's going to be some years it doesn't work out. What matters now is where we go from here."

 Gorman (1-0) got the win for the Kings, pitching two scoreless innings after hurling only four innings total all year. Jose Vega took the loss.