Baseball Preview: Bernalillo Spartans vs. Del Norte Knights
Bernalillo is 8-2 against Del Norte since April of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Bernalillo Spartans will be playing at home against the Del Norte Knights at 4:00 p.m. Bernalillo is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.3 runs per game this season.
Bernalillo is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Hope Christian, who was ranked 22nd in their home state at the time (Bernalillo was ranked 18th). Bernalillo fell victim to a tough 13-0 defeat at the hands of Hope Christian on Friday. The match marked the first time this season in which Bernalillo was not able to get on the board.
Bernalillo saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Uriel Castro, who went 2-for-3 with a double.
Meanwhile, Del Norte had to endure an eight-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They had just enough and edged Menaul/Oak Grove out 12-11.
Malvin Waquie was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). Waquie was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with three RBI, a triple, and a run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Xzander Van winkle, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4. Another player making a difference was Davien Dimaggio, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and an RBI.
Bernalillo's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 13-5. As for Del Norte, their win ended a six-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-17.
Del Norte's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Bernalillo has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.3 hits per game. It's a different story for Del Norte, though, as they've been averaging 9.7. Given Bernalillo's sizable advantage in that area, Del Norte will need to find a way to close that gap.
Bernalillo came out on top in a nail-biter against Del Norte in their previous meeting on April 5th, sneaking past 4-2. Does Bernalillo have another victory up their sleeve, or will Del Norte turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
