Baseball Preview: Pioneer Diamondbacks vs. Vela Sabercats
The Pioneer Diamondbacks will head out on the road to take on the Vela Sabercats at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Pioneer will be looking to extend their current seven-game winning streak.
Pioneer stacked an 11th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Southwest with a sharp 17-0 victory.
Andy Chapa and Rene Vela were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Chapa tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks). Meanwhile, Vela tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Chapa scored a run while going 1-for-2, while Vela scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, Diego Chapa was incredible, scoring a run while going 3-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Ben Martinez, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
While Vela couldn't quite beat McAllen on Friday, the two-point margin was a huge improvement compared to the 11-point defeat they were dealt on Tuesday. Vela fell just short of McAllen by a score of 11-9. Vela has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Like Pioneer, Vela also got a great game from a two-way player: Santiago Montes. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Montes was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with an RBI.
Montes wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was AJ Reyes, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Jayden Martinez was another key contributor, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Pioneer's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-5. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.3 runs per game. As for Vela, they now have a losing record at 11-12-1.
Vela's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Pioneer hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .377. It's a different story for Vela, though, as they've only averaged .220. Will they be able to contain Pioneer's hitters?
Everything went Pioneer's way against Vela in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 as Pioneer made off with an 11-3 victory. Will Pioneer repeat their success, or does Vela have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
