Softball Preview: Lovington Wildcats vs. Artesia Bulldogs
Lovington is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Artesia is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Lovington Wildcats will take on the Artesia Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lovington's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Portales 10-0.
The result came thanks to Sabrie Sanchez's shutout, as she gave up just four hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Lovington let Jocelynn Holguin and Zabri Rodriguez loose on the outfield. Holguin went 2-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, and a stolen base, while Rodriguez went 2-for-2 with a home run and four RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Zemarie Ellis, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Artesia got the win against Goddard on Friday by a conclusive 10-0.
Madison Martinez made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Martinez was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kayden Apodaca, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Elizabeth De La Riva was another key contributor, going 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Lovington has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 14 of their last 15 games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-3 record this season. As for Artesia, their victory bumped their record up to 15-7.
Tuesday's match will be a test for both team's pitchers. Lovington hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .388. However, it's not like Artesia struggles in that department as they've averaged .382. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Lovington came out on top in a nail-biter against Artesia when the teams last played last Friday, sneaking past 3-2. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Martinez, who tossed 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Lovington still be able to contain Martinez? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
