Softball Preview: Artesia Bulldogs vs. Hobbs Eagles
Artesia has enjoyed a five-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Hobbs Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Artesia put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season on Friday. Everything went their way against Roswell as Artesia made off with an 8-1 win.
Katrin Marquez spent all nine innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up six Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, McKenna Morrison and Kinsley Rodriguez did most of the damage at the plate: Morrison went 1-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base, while Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Makayla Lujan, who went 1-for-3 with a home run.
Meanwhile, Hobbs faced Carlsbad in a battle between two of the state's top teams last Saturday. Hobbs narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Carlsbad 11-10. The win made it back-to-back victories for Hobbs.
Kandis Harrison and Edyth Chavez did most of the damage at the plate: Harrison went 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs, and three RBI, while Chavez went 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Karissa Garcia, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Artesia has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. As for Hobbs, their win bumped their record up to 10-3.
Hobbs' pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Artesia has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.5 hits per game. It's a different story for Hobbs, though, as they've been averaging 9.3. Given Artesia's sizable advantage in that area, Hobbs will need to find a way to close that gap.
Artesia couldn't quite finish off Hobbs when the teams last played back in March and fell 3-1. Can Artesia avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
