Baseball Game Preview: Los Lunas Tigers vs. Sandia Matadors

The Los Lunas Tigers will venture away from home to take on the Sandia Matadors at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Los Lunas will bounce into Friday's game after beating St. Pius X, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. Los Lunas narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past St. Pius X 4-3. That's two games straight that the Tigers have won by just one run.

Jonah Utash was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched. What's more, he gave up only zero earned runs, the fewest he's had since back in May of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April of 2024.

Utash wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Matthew Castillo, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, Sandia faced Valley in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. Sandia blew past Valley 17-3. Considering the Matadors have won ten contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

Los Lunas' victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-6. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.9 runs on average over those games. As for Sandia, they have been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season.

Los Lunas couldn't quite get it done against Sandia in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 as they fell 13-10. Can Los Lunas avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.