The Estancia Bears will look to take advantage of their home field for the first time this season as they take on the Santa Rosa Lions at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Estancia has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Santa Rosa will arrive with seven straight victories.
Thursday just wasn't the day for Estancia's offense. They came up short against St. Michael's on Thursday, falling 21-0. While getting shut out isn't ideal, the Bears haven't been shut out since back in March.
Joshua Villafuerte
| 04/10/25 @ St. Michael's | 2 |
| 04/08/25 @ Raton | 1 |
| 04/01/25 @ Tucumcari | 1 |
| 03/13/25 @ Capitan | 6 |
| 03/05/25 @ Moriarty | 1 |
Estancia saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Joshua Villafuerte, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases. Villafuerte is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's snagged at least one every time he's taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, Santa Rosa made sure to put some runs up on the board against Logan on Thursday. The Lions put the hurt on the Longhorns with a sharp 13-2 win. The Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matchups by seven runs or more this season.
Josiah Barela was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Barela was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Santa Rosa got a big performance out of Landyn Zamora, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. Joshua Cordova was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.
Santa Rosa kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. They are a perfect 8-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Santa Rosa pushed their record up to 10-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Estancia, their loss dropped their record down to 2-6.
Saturday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Estancia hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .343. However, it's not like Santa Rosa struggles in that department as they've averaged .449. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Estancia suffered a grim 18-0 defeat to Santa Rosa in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
