Baseball Game Preview: Rio Rancho Rams vs. Piedra Vista Panthers

The Rio Rancho Rams will face off against the Piedra Vista Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Rio Rancho is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games.

Rio Rancho is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Cibola, who was ranked seventh at the time (Rio Rancho was ranked second). The Rams had just enough and edged out the Cougars 3-2 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Piedra Vista, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They came out on top against Cleveland by a score of 4-1 on Tuesday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Rio Rancho pushed their record up to 15-4 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 2.75 runs across that stretch. As for Piedra Vista, their victory was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 13-6.

Rio Rancho came out on top in a nail-biter against Piedra Vista in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, sneaking past 4-2. Do the Rams have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Panthers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.