Baseball Game Preview: Centennial Hawks vs. Rio Rancho Rams

The Centennial Hawks will square off against the Rio Rancho Rams at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Centennial comes in on six and Rio Rancho on five.

Centennial is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They came out on top against Rio Grande by a score of 8-5.

Aidan Renteria tossed a big game, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits.

At the plate, Johnny Renteria was incredible, going 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Isreal Molina, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs.

Centennial hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in four consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Rio Rancho faced Farmington in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. The Rams were the clear victors by a 9-2 margin over the Scorpions. The Rams might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 matches by seven runs or more this season.

Rio Rancho's win was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-6. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Centennial, their win bumped their record up to 22-6.

Centennial came up short against Rio Rancho in their previous matchup back in May of 2023, falling 9-6. Can the Hawks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.