Baseball Game Preview: Melrose Buffaloes vs. Magdalena Steers

The Melrose Buffaloes will venture away from home to challenge the Magdalena Steers at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

The home team had won the previous six meetings between Melrose and Dora, and Dora kept the tradition alive. The Buffaloes fell 9-6 to the Coyotes on Monday. The Buffaloes' defeat signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Magdalena came tearing into Monday's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Bronchos 11-0. Considering the Steers have won eight contests by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.

The team relied heavily on Joseph Zamora, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. Javen Tafoya was another key player, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.

Magdalena was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .400 or higher in six consecutive games.

Magdalena's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Melrose, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 7-5.

Everything went Melrose's way against Magdalena when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Melrose made off with a 19-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Buffaloes since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.