Baseball Game Preview: Montezuma-Cortez Panthers vs. Valley Vikings

The Montezuma-Cortez Panthers will square off against the Valley Vikings at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Montezuma-Cortez is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.2 runs per game this season.

Montezuma-Cortez heads in on the heels of a playoff match on Friday. They fell just short of Resurrection Christian by a score of 1-0. The Panthers' loss signaled the end of their 13-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Valley wound up with the same score they had in their last game (5-4), but sadly the team found themselves on the wrong side of the score this time.

Alfonso Medina made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one stolen base. He has become a key player for Valley: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least three RBI, but 11-12 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Trent Mestas, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.

Montezuma-Cortez's defeat dropped their record down to 21-5. As for Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 13-13.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Montezuma-Cortez has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Montezuma-Cortez came out on top in a nail-biter against Valley when the teams last played back in May of 2024, sneaking past 8-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.