The Los Lunas Tigers will challenge the West Mesa Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Los Lunas will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each game than the last.
Los Lunas is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Albuquerque, who was ranked 25th at the time (Los Lunas was ranked 13th). The Tigers were the clear victors by an 18-8 margin over the Bulldogs last Friday. Considering the Tigers have won seven matches by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Kelsie DeGraaf
| 04/11/25 @ Albuquerque | 4 |
| 03/28/25 vs Rio Rancho | 3 |
| 03/27/25 vs Bernalillo | 3 |
| 03/25/25 vs Gallup | 3 |
| 03/22/25 vs Deming | 3 |
Los Lunas got a massive performance out of Kelsie DeGraaf, who went a perfect 5-for-5 with three stolen bases, four runs, and three doubles. Those four runs gave DeGraaf a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Natalie Madrid, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs, three RBI, and one stolen base.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Los Lunas kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 24 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least ten hits in seven consecutive contests.
Albuquerque hit West Mesa with a seven-run sixth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Mustangs came up short against the Bulldogs, falling 15-5. The Mustangs haven't had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.
Ellie Padilla made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. She has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last seven times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Trinity 'Toots' Bazan, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Los Lunas has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for West Mesa, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-14.
West Mesa's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Los Lunas has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.8 hits per game. It's a different story for West Mesa, though, as they've been averaging 12.3 hits. Given Los Lunas' sizable advantage in that area, the Mustangs will need to find a way to close that gap.
Los Lunas was able to grind out a solid win over West Mesa in their previous matchup two weeks ago, winning 10-5. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Mustangs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
