New Mexico State softball commit loses chance to break HR record, win second state title
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (BVM) — The Rio Rancho High School softball program has established a solid tradition of success and a lot of talented players have been a part of that success in its 23 years of existence. But this past spring, the Rams might have not only had their best team ever, one of their best players of all-time was on her way to a record-breaking year.
Senior outfielder Brianna Gallegos already had four home runs and seven RBIs with a .600 batting average and a 2.181 OPS through six games for defending Class 5A state champion Rio Rancho before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The New Mexico State commit was a first team all-state selection in 2019 when she helped the Rams capture the state title after batting .515 with 36 RBIs, 56 runs scored and 20 stolen bases and tying the state’s single-season home run record with 19. Gallegos, who was named the 2020 Gatorade New Mexico Softball Player of the Year, would’ve likely broken that record this spring if she had a full season of at-bats.
“I have no doubt about that,” Rio Rancho head coach Paul Kohman said. “That would’ve pretty much been a given.”
We got Albuquerque's finest! 😎#AggieNation is so excited to see you, Brianna! Welcome home!#AggieUp pic.twitter.com/oViZlLGpJI
— NM State Softball (@NMStateSoftball) November 13, 2019
It was not a given that the Rams would have claimed a second straight state title — and fourth in six years — if the season hadn’t been canceled, but Kohman believes they couldn’t have been in a better position than they were. Along with Gallegos, the Rams returned four other seniors and had a loaded pitching staff.
“The five seniors we had this year were a year older, faster, stronger, better than a year ago,” Kohman said, “and this without a doubt was the best team we’ve had because we had more pitching this year than we knew what to do with. … I don’t feel bad just for the seniors, I feel bad for the (others) too because they missed out on the opportunity to play with the five seniors we had that are going on to play softball in college.”
Gallegos started playing with Rio Rancho as an eighth grader after the program had won back-to-back state titles in 2014 and 2015. The program struggled a bit in Gallegos’ first two years on the team, but she was an integral part of the Rams’ re-emergence as one of the state’s best. Rio Rancho took third place at state during her sophomore season before the Rams made it back to the top last year when they claimed their fourth state title.
“She was a major part of it,” Kohman said of Gallegos’ impact. “Her leadership to all the kids around her was always phenomenal.”
Gallegos is the fifth Rams softball player to be named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year, and all four of the program’s previous award winners went on to play Division I softball as well. Last year’s winner, Briana Martinez, was an All-Mountain West Conference performer for the University of New Mexico during a pandemic-shortened freshman season with the Lobos.
Gallegos will hope to have similar success in her first college season with the Aggies next spring.
