Baseball Game Preview: Valencia Jaguars vs. Alamogordo Tigers

A feisty cat fight will be fought as Valencia Jaguars challenge Alamogordo Tigers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Valencia hasn't scored more than two runs for three games straight, a trend the team is eager to reverse.

While Valencia's victory against Lovington wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. Valencia won by a run and slipped past Lovington 2-1. The win continues a trend for the Jaguars in their matchups with the Wildcats: they've now won six in a row.

Horacio Romero spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up seven Ks.

Meanwhile, Alamogordo put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They put the hurt on Artesia with a sharp 12-2 victory. 12 seems to be a good number for the Tigers as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Kade Kiss made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits any time he's pitched this season. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

In other batting news, Brandon Williams was a standout: he scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Preston Eldred, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.

Alamogordo always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. The last time their OBP was this high was since the start of last season.

Alamogordo pushed their record up to 3-0 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Valencia, the win got them back to even at 2-2.

Valencia came up short against Alamogordo in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, falling 3-0. Can Valencia avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.