Baseball Game Preview: Goddard Rockets vs. Portales Rams

For the second straight game, Goddard will face off against Portales. The Rockets will head out to challenge the Rams at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Goddard is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.

Goddard's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They were the clear victors by an 8-0 margin over Portales. The victory continues a trend for the Rockets in their matchups with the Rams: they've now won six in a row.

Lucien Betancur

Hits Against

04/19/25 vs Lovington	6
03/20/25 vs Alamogordo	6
03/28/25 vs Carlsbad	5
04/11/25 vs Roswell	4
03/15/25 vs Clovis	4
+ 2 more games

Goddard got a great performance from Lucien Betancur as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Betancur has become a key player for the Rockets: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most two hits, but 7-10 otherwise.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Airell Aguilar, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs and one double. Goddard is undefeated when Aguilar posts two or more runs, but 4-11 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Brady Duer, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

Goddard was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .350 or higher in five consecutive matchups.

Portales has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost eight of their last nine contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-12 record this season. As for Goddard, their win bumped their record up to 9-11.