Las Cruces baseball champions

The New Mexico-Texas Majors made history in Cooperstown, New York, last week.

The team, made up of 12-year-old children from Las Cruces, El Paso, Artesia and Clovis, traveled to Cooperstown, New York, for the 2025 Cooperstown All-Star Village in mid-July. The team representing Las Cruces went undefeated during the tournament. According to Coach Sal Gomez, the team is the first New Mexico-based team to win the tournament.

“Never in history has a 1-seed won the Cooperstown tournament,” Sal Gomez said.

Sal Gomez said his favorite moment in the championship was in the final game. The NM-TX Majors gave up a single, then gave up a homerun. There were no outs and the team was losing 2-0.

“I swapped pitchers. They got three outs. The kids were coming into the dugout. I told them, ‘It’s only two runs. Stay mentally prepared. Stay humble. Do not give up. We’ve got this. Don’t worry about it,’” he said.

Then the next three batters up for the NM-TX Majors all got out.

“We told them, ‘There’s still a lot of game left. We keep battling. This is what life is about. When it knocks you down. You got to fight back,’” he said.

Sal said the NM-TX Majors got the next three batters for the opposing team out in a row, then went back to the dugout to bat themselves.

The first batter up hit a line drive and got on base. The second batter hit a line drive and got on base. The third batter hit a homerun.

“We never looked back,” Sal said. “We won 9-3.”

Courtesy of Coach Sal Gomez

Courtesy of Coach Sal Gomez

Another aspect of the NM-TX Majors that makes them unique is that they have one girl who plays on the team, Jayden Gomez.

Jayden told the Bulletin her favorite moment of the tournament was when the team won the last game.

“We ran on the field. They were pouring water on us. It was a really happy moment,” Jayden said.

Sal Gomez said one of the challenges the team faced was playing in summer heat which also included something the NM-TX Majors aren’t used to – humidity.

“Not only did we have to play the best of the best in the competition, we had to battle the weather. You have heat and humidity. They were drinking water bottle after water bottle. But when it came down to game time, they knew. They flipped the switch. They never let up,” Sal said.

Jayden said that her teammates lift her up.

“They inspire me,” she said.

But she said she faces additional challenges, being a girl playing baseball. One challenge is that she is frequently told she can’t play baseball.

“I just shake it off and show these boys how it’s done,” Jayden said.

Jayden has been playing baseball since she was five years old.

She said she is also frequently told she should play softball.

She said she wasn’t the only girl at the tournament, but she was nearly the only one. There was one other girl playing for a Boston-based team, she said.

And what’s next for the best team coming out of the Cooperstown All-Star Village? Sal said he wants to take the team to the Cal Ripken Series in Orlando, Florida, which takes place at the ESPN Sports Complex in 2026 or 2027.

But meanwhile, the NM-TX Majors are basking in their big win. They came home with a trophy and rings. Sal said the kids represented New Mexico and the southwest region well and put Las Cruces on the map.

“We set records. There’s never been a 1-seed to win this tournament. There’s never been a Las Cruces or El Paso team to win this tournament. There’s never been an undefeated team to win this tournament. We set three big milestones. These kids can play some ball. They showed it the entire week,” he said.