The Estancia Bears will face off against the Raton Tigers at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Estancia has five straight victories, Raton has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
While Estancia's win against Tucumcari wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Bears had just enough and edged out the Rattlers 7-6. The game was the first time the Bears have beaten the Rattlers on their field since April 16, 2022.
Michael Anaya
| 04/22/26 @ Tucumcari | 6 |
| 04/11/26 @ Santa Rosa | 1 |
| 04/06/26 @ Raton | 1 |
| 03/31/26 vs Tucumcari | 4 |
| 03/28/26 vs Santa Rosa | 4 |
| + 3 more games |
Michael Anaya and Devon Chavez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Anaya struck out six batters over 3.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Meanwhile, Chavez struck out six batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off three hits. That's the most strikeouts Anaya has posted since back in March. At the plate, Anaya went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI, while Chavez went 3-for-4 with two runs and one double. Chavez has become a key player for Estancia: the team is 9-2 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-5 otherwise.
In other batting news, Tarin Cantu was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one triple and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Matthew Montoya, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.
Raton couldn't beat Tucumcari on Monday even though they stacked four runs on them in the fifth inning. The Tigers fell just short of the Rattlers by a score of 5-4.
Brayden Tapia made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double.
Estancia's victory bumped their record up to 10-7. As for Raton, their loss dropped their record down to 9-11.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Estancia has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Raton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Estancia skirted past Raton 9-8 in their previous meeting on April 6th. Will the Bears repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
