Baseball Recap: Cibola Falls Short Against Ranked Rio Rancho

Cibola faced Rio Rancho in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. The Cougars fell just short of the Rams by a score of 3-2. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Rams this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 6-2 back in March.

Austin Zapach was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Furthermore, he didn't allow a single earned run, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in March.

On the hitting side, Ryan Hutchinson was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-2 with one home run.

Cibola's defeat dropped their record down to 13-6. As for Rio Rancho, they pushed their record up to 15-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home.

Looking ahead, Cibola will take on Farmington at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The Cougars are facing the Scorpions at the right time seeing as the Scorpions are stuck on a three-game losing streak. As for Rio Rancho, they will challenge Piedra Vista at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.