Baseball Game Preview: Rocky Ford Meloneers vs. Rye Thunderbolts

Rocky Ford hasn't had much luck against Rye recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Rocky Ford Meloneers will welcome the Rye Thunderbolts at 2:00 p.m. Rye took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Rocky Ford, who comes in off a win.

Having struggled with six defeats in a row dating back to last season, Rocky Ford turned things around against Mitchell on Saturday. They put the hurt on the Marauders with a sharp 23-3 victory.

Isiah Vazquez-Gallegos was a standout: he scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Chris Augilar, who went 2-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple.

Rocky Ford always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .825. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mitchell only posted an OBP of .400.

Meanwhile, Rye came up short against Gunnison last Saturday, falling 14-1.

Rye saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Pierce Burris, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-2. That's the most stolen bases Burris has posted since back in April of 2024.

The win got Rocky Ford back to even at 1-1. As for Rye, their loss dropped their record down to 0-2.

Rocky Ford suffered a grim 11-4 defeat to Rye when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can Rocky Ford avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.