Baseball Game Preview: Belen Eagles vs. Chaparral Lobos

For the second straight game, Belen will face off against Chaparral. The Eagles will host the Lobos at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Belen heads in on the heels of a playoff matchup on Friday. They lost 15-5 to Chaparral. The Eagles' loss signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.

For Chaparral's part, Michael Molina and Israel Nieto made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Molina didn't allow a single earned run while striking out ten over six innings pitched. Meanwhile, Nieto tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March. At bat, Molina got on base in all five of his plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and one triple, while Nieto got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Nieto has become a key player for Chaparral: the team is 11-4 when he posts at least two runs, but 5-7 otherwise.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Carlos Torres, who went 4-for-5 with three stolen bases, four runs, and three RBI. Chaparral is 8-2 when Torres posts two or more runs, but 8-9 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Justin Castillo, who went 2-for-4 with three runs.

The victory was the fifth in a row for Chaparral, bringing their record up to 16-11. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.4 runs over those games. As for Belen, their defeat dropped their record down to 18-9.