Softball Preview: Rio Grande Ravens vs. Albuquerque Bulldogs
Rio Grande is 0-10 against Albuquerque since March of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Rio Grande Ravens will play host again on Saturday to welcome the Albuquerque Bulldogs, where first pitch is scheduled at 10:00 a.m. Both teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Rio Grande will head into Saturday's game having proved themselves against Shiprock: Rio Grande barely beat Shiprock the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Rio Grande put the hurt on Shiprock with a sharp 17-2 win on Saturday.
Makayla Maes was incredible, going 3-for-3 with three runs, two doubles, and a triple. The team also got some help courtesy of Lilianna Cruz, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Albuquerque stacked a 12th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Saturday. They beat Capital by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 17-2. Winning may never get old, but Albuquerque sure is getting used to it with their sixth in a row.
Raquel Waldrop made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching four innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Waldrop was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with a home run and four RBI. She is on a roll when it comes to RBI, as she's now brought in four or more in the last four games she's played.
In other batting news, Honey Fields was a standout: she got on base in all three of her plate appearances with a home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Naiyoki Wright, who went 2-for-2 with three runs, a triple, and an RBI.
Rio Grande's victory bumped their record up to 6-14. As for Albuquerque, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Rio Grande hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Albuquerque struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.6. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Rio Grande suffered a grim 12-0 defeat to Albuquerque in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Will Rio Grande have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
