District 1-5A champion Cibola and star southpaw pitcher Missy Martinez could face the Rio Rancho High School softball team once again, if the Rams can get past Gadsden in a first-round game today at noon at the Class 5A state tournament in Farmington.

The Cougars, ranked No. 1 most of the season and understandably seeded No. 1, have already beaten the Rams (11-15) three times this season, 3-1, 7-2 and 7-6. Two of those games could have easily gone in the Rams' favor, and coach Paul Kohman would like to get a crack at them again. If the Rams beat the Panthers, that will take place Friday at 8 a.m.

Ninth-seeded Gadsden (14-12), like No. 8 seed Rio Rancho, was a district runner-up (3-5A). On a three-game losing streak, the Panthers and Rams last met on March 25, 2006, when the Rams eked out a 2-1 victory over them in the championship game of the Kristin Griego Memorial Tournament at Eagle Ridge. Of course, as many sports sages have said before, "To be the best you have to beat the best," but Kohman thinks his team should have received a better seed, maybe even a top-four seed that would have earned the Rams a first-round bye.

"You know, it's just amazing - if they claim this is a seeded tournament - the seeding people have no clue," he said. "If they're going off the record, we should be the 12th seed, so I don't know what they're doing. It's like last year. (But) in defense of them people, they don't know anything about softball.

"That's part of the comical part of this. Last year we had a better team and we were the eighth seed," he said. "It's not a seeded tournament, plain and simple, (but) I learned a long time ago if you're going to win a tournament you've got to beat everybody. I'd rather see it being a 16-team tournament, like last year. God forbid, more kids would get to play in it."

In the 2005-06 school year, the NMAA had 16 teams seeded in every team sport event; this year, every sport except basketball has a 12-team seeded format.

Kohman said he didn't know a lot about the Panthers; the teams have one common opponent, Gallup. The Rams were 4-0 against the Bengals, outscoring them 59-8 along the way, while the Panthers beat GHS 15-11 in Farmington in early March.

"They're not as strong a team as they were last year; they lost a lot of seniors," he said. "They're a very good team. We'll have to play well to beat them."

With senior Erica Lizon, the team's clean-up hitter and starting shortstop, back in the mix after a setback with mononucleosis, Kohman said his team is as healthy as it's been all year.

"Without a doubt, with a mistake-free game (we can win)," he concluded. "There are only a few times this year we have been beat - and not beat ourselves. Sometimes the pressure is more than they can help."

Bunts: In other first-round match-ups at Ricketts Park today, No. 5 Los Lunas meets No. 12 Hobbs, No. 6 Alamogordo tackles No. 11 Manzano and No. 7 La Cueva squares off with No. 10 West Mesa. In addition to Cibola's quarterfinal game Friday with the Rams-Panthers winner, No. 4 Carlsbad faces the Los Lunas-Hobbs winner, No. 3 Sandia faces the Alamogordo-Manzano winner, and No. 2 Oñate squares off with the La Cueva-West Mesa winner. The semis are Friday at 6 and 8; the championship game is Saturday at 2 p.m.

... The Rams have fallen in the state quarterfinals the past two seasons, 2-1 to eventual champ West Mesa last season and 4-3 to champ La Cueva in 2005. La Cueva also ended their 2004 season with a Region D victory at Eagle Ridge. The Rams were the state champions in 2003.

... Former Ram Trish Lakotish (Class of 2005) just completed sophomore year at Judson College (18-24) in Elgin, Ill. Lakotish led the team in doubles (8), batted .256 and played first base in 36 of the team's 42 games. She had a fielding percentage of 975 with only five errors, and was tied in the balloting for Defensive Player of the Year. The Eagles made their first appearance at the National Christian College Athletic Association's national tournament in Marion, Ind., going 1-1 in a single-elimination tournament because of weather.