Baseball Preview: Nucla Mustangs vs. Sierra Grande Panthers
The Nucla Mustangs are on the road again on Friday to play the Sierra Grande Panthers at 12:00 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Nucla earned a 12-9 victory over Rangely.
The team relied heavily on Hemmy O'Brien, who went 1-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Paxtin Caruso, who scored a run while going 3-for-5.
Meanwhile, Sierra Grande stacked a tenth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 14-1 margin over Center. The win was familiar territory for Sierra Grande who now have three in a row.
Brian Ontiveros made a splash no matter where he played. He struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off eight hits (and only one walk). Ontiveros has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. Ontiveros was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing three bases while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Rolando Najera was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Derek Martinez, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Nucla's record is now 7-10-1. As for Sierra Grande, their record is now 13-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Nucla has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Sierra Grande struggles in that department as they've been averaging 15.8. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Nucla's way against Sierra Grande in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 as Nucla made off with a 14-4 victory. Does Nucla have another victory up their sleeve, or will Sierra Grande turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
