Herschbach, Zamora and Tafoya will join the All-Star Series

Since he was five years old, Ayden Herschbach has been playing baseball – as well as plenty of other sports -- alongside fellow Magdalena graduated seniors Joseph Zamora and Taven Tafoya.

But now the three Steers who have made such an impact on the various sports in which they participated will be opponents in what is their last time representing their high school during Class 1A-3A three-game, All-Star Series at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho.

“It means a lot,” Herschbach said. “It means I’m being rewarded for my hard work. It’s a good thing.”

When he takes the field Friday and Saturday for the games, he will be playing for team green. Tafoya and Zamora will be playing for team red. Senior players are chosen through a selection process of the district coaches across the state based on their success over the course of their career. The players are then drafted onto one of the teams. The Red-Green series replaced the North-South games that used to pit players based on geographical criteria.

“It should be pretty fun,” Herschbach said. “I’m excited. We get to go out and play more games. It’s fun.”

Nevertheless, “it sucks that I’m not on the same team as my teammates,” he admitted.

The Steers are coming off a state championship victory, the program’s first since 1990.

And now the trio will be closing out their memorable high school careers with one last chance to put on a show.

“We started in kindergarten,” Herschbach said. “We started together in tee ball.”

Being in opposing dugouts will be different at first, he said, but it could add a little more spice to the game, at least for the Magdalena players.

“It might feel a little weird,” he said. “But we always compete.”

Although all-star games are notorious for being more like exhibitions, expect the Steers players to be getting after it, Herschbach said.

“I don’t know about how competitive the games are going to be because with a lot of all-star games age people don’t take it too serious. But there might be a little competition between me and my teammates.”

Herschbach, who said he plans to attend CNM in Albuquerque and study welding, in which he already has proficiency certificate after studying it for four years during high school, said the time has zipped past.

“It’s pretty unbelievable,” he said. “Five years ago, I was just an eighth grader on varsity and now I’m done with all of my sports. Pretty much my whole life has been sports: football, basketball, track, power lifting.”

The latter is one he plans to continue to do regularly, although he can envision playing some men’s league basketball or softball in the future.

“But right now, I’m getting started with life stuff,” Herschbach said. “Get a job. Stuff like that.”’

NOTE: Although no Socorro players were represented in the All-Star Game, the Warriors did well in District 3-3A All-District team with seniors Cenyon Scarborough and David Gutierrez Jr., each landing on the first team. Seniors Issac Vega and Sebastian Mercado, junior Jacob Angel and sophomore Joseph Rivera were all second teamers. Freshman Gabriel Silva and sophomore Cullen Baxter were honorable mention.