Softball Game Preview: Pioneer Diamondbacks vs. Vela Sabercats

The Pioneer Diamondbacks will challenge the Vela Sabercats at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Vela will be up against a hot Pioneer squad: the team just extended their winning streak to seven. Pioneer was the clear victors by a 9-3 margin over Mission Veterans Memorial on Monday. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since April 3, 2018, but that streak is no more.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Vela, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Southwest a 19-0 shutout on Monday. The Sabercats have beaten the Javelinas the last seven times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Javelinas has come to flipping the script.

Sara Mendoza made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, she posted four strikeouts, the most she's had since back in March of 2024. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.

In other batting news, Raylee Pearson was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Addie Cantu, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.

Vela was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .421. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .367 or higher in three consecutive games.

Pioneer pushed their record up to 13-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Vela, the victory got them back to even at 6-6.

Pioneer skirted past Vela 13-12 in their previous meeting back in February. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pioneer since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.