Softball Preview: Moriarty Pintos vs. Los Alamos Hilltoppers
Moriarty is 1-9 against Los Alamos since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Moriarty Pintos will head out on the road to square off against the Los Alamos Hilltoppers at 10:00 a.m. The last three games Moriarty has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
On Wednesday, it was a hard-fought game, but Moriarty had to settle for a 15-14 loss against Espanola Valley. That's two games in a row now that Moriarty has lost by just one run.
Julie Autrey and Shae Rios stepped up to the plate in a big way. Autrey went 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs, while Rios went 2-for-5 with a home run, four runs, and a triple. Kristina Means was another key contributor, scoring three runs while going 3-for-5.
Meanwhile, Los Alamos waltzed into their matchup on Wednesday with nine straight wins... but they left with ten. Everything went their way against the Tigers as they made off with a 10-4 victory. The result was nothing new for Los Alamos, who have now won 13 matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Mika Stanfield spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on four hits and racked up eight Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Los Alamos got a big performance out of Adia Fortin, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Reyana Naranjo, who went 2-for-5 with a triple, a run, and a double.
Moriarty's defeat dropped their record down to 13-8. As for Los Alamos, they pushed their record up to 15-9 with that win, which was their sixth straight on the road.
Los Alamos' hitters will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Moriarty has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Los Alamos, though, as they've been averaging only 3.5. Will Moriarty keep running through batters, or will Los Alamos buck the trend?
Moriarty suffered a grim 18-2 defeat to Los Alamos when the teams last played on April 10th. Can Moriarty avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
