Baseball Game Preview: Nucla Mustangs vs. Dolores Bears

The Nucla Mustangs will face off against the Dolores Bears at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Nucla is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.1 runs per game this season.

Nucla is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Antonito on Friday as they made off with a 23-1 victory. The win continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Trojans: they've now won five in a row.

Jackson McCabe

Hits (Career)

04/11/25 @ Antonito	4
04/08/25 vs Ignacio	2
04/16/24 vs Grand Valley	2
04/11/25 @ Antonito	1
04/04/25 @ Cedaredge	1

Nucla got a massive performance out of Jackson McCabe, who scored four runs and stole four bases while going 4-for-4. Those four hits gave McCabe a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Cole Bray, who scored four runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.

Nucla always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .641. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Antonito only posted an OBP of .250.

Meanwhile, Dolores was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their eighth straight defeat. They came up short against Non Varsity Opponent, falling 12-3.

Dolores saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gus Vaughn, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base. Another was Levi Hampton, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.

Dolores' loss dropped their record down to 1-11. As for Nucla, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Nucla has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Dolores struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Nucla skirted past Dolores 10-9 in their previous meeting back in April of 2019. Will the Mustangs repeat their success, or do the Bears have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.