West Las Vegas 8th Grader Breaks State Home Run Record and Helps Win State Title

WEST LAS VEGAS 8TH GRADER BREAKS SINGLE SEASON HOME RUN NEW MEXICO PREP STATE RECORDPhoto byNMAA

Eighth-grader Malie Satete of West Las Vegas (Las Vegas, N.M.) broke New Mexico's prep all-time single-season home run record, bashing a nation-leading 25 round-trippers according to MaxPreps leaderboards. Malie Satete, an 8th grader who plays for West Las Vegas, put her name on top of a list in the New Mexico high school record book. Satete hit her 21^st home run of the season on Tuesday against rival Robertson, breaking the previous mark of 20 home runs in one year. Last week, Satete tied the record with her 20th home run of the year in a 14-7 win against Raton. Jalyn Montes of Cibola High School set the previous high mark in 2023.

Satete passed the previous state mark of 20 on May 7, bashing five more over her final six games.

Her home run muscle helped West Las Vegas to its first state title in school history.

“For the past two years I’ve worked a lot on my hitting,” said the 8^th grader.

Satete is also a pitcher for the Lady Dons and she says that works to her advantage at the plate. “I pay attention to what the pitchers do when they throw, their hands, their movements, and I try to think what I would throw myself,” she said. “I try my best just to make contact and try not to hit grounders, just try to hit line drives.”

“She’s amazing,” said West Las Vegas head coach Roy Pacheco. “If she can put a bat on it, it has a good chance to go out. She hits the ball well. She is confident and you don’t always see that in an 8th grader.”

At the dish, Satete hit .773 this season, including five multi-home run games. Of her 68 hits this season, 74 percent went for extra bases. She had a four-hit game five times this season and in two of those contests three of her hits cleared the fences.She got a hit in every game where she had at least two at-bats and struck out only three times in 88 at-bats. And the Class of 2028 power hitter also is the team's leader in the circle.

Satete pitched all seven innings in the Dons' 4-1 win over Cobre (Bayard) in the state title game. She allowed one run on one hit and struck out five. She ended the season with one earned run in her final 25 innings. She completed the season with a 1.57 ERA in 98 innings with 143 strikeouts. Satete went 14-1 this season and averaged nearly 1.5 strikeouts per inning.

All season, the West Las Vegas Lady Dons were the best team in Class 3A softball, and last weekend they proved it, bringing home the first blue trophy in program history with a 4-1 victory over Cobre.

It was a classic matchup of an established powerhouse against an upstart squad in the championship game. Cobre, with 11 softball state championships to their name, saw Friday’s game as a chance to further cement their legacy. The Lady Dons, with four championship appearances in program history, but only red trophies to show for them, saw it as a chance to establish a legacy of their own.

Thanks to a final outstanding performance from Satete inside the pitcher’s circle, West Las Vegas was able to keep the game tied into the fifth inning, when they finally broke through in a big way offensively, scoring all the runs they needed to bring home the ultimate prize.