The Eunice Cardinals will square off against the Raton Tigers at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. Eunice is coming into the match hot, having won their last nine games.
Last Saturday, Eunice got the win against Texico by a conclusive 20-4. Considering the Cardinals have won 13 games by more than six runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Haziel Goitia
| 05/03/25 @ Texico | 2 |
| 04/22/25 vs Texico | 1 |
| 04/12/25 @ Texico | 1 |
| 03/29/25 vs Grady | 1 |
Fernando Serna and Haziel Goitia made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Serna didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Goitia tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Serna has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances. At bat, Serna got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, four RBI, and two runs, while Goitia went a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Those two RBI gave Goitia a new career-high.
In other batting news, Jose Calvillo was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Tyson Coy was another key player, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Eunice always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Texico only posted an OBP of .333.
Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Raton had no trouble coming through when it counted. They skirted past McCurdy 11-10.
Raton let Camron Edmondson and Azden Romero run wild. Edmondson went 3-for-5 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base, while Romero went 2-for-4 with four runs, two RBI, and one double. Romero is becoming a predictor of Raton's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 8-2 (and 3-9 when he doesn't).
Raton is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-11 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.8 runs over those games. As for Eunice, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-4.
Thursday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Eunice hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .352. However, it's not like Raton struggles in that department as they've averaged .339. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Eunice's way against Raton in their previous meeting back in March of 2019, as Eunice made off with a 14-4 win. Will the Cardinals repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
