With a playoff win on the line, Jal rose to the challenge on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Raton Tigers 9-7. That's two games straight that the Panthers have won by exactly two runs.
Jal let Johnna Butts and Yanira Sauceda run wild. Butts got on base in all five of her plate appearances with two runs, two RBI, and one double, while Sauceda got on base in four of her five plate appearances with four RBI and one double. What's more, Butts posted three hits, the most she's had since back in March. Amylah Melancon was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one double.
Panthers
| 05/13/26 vs Raton | 9-7 |
| 05/06/26 @ Hozho Academy | 8-6 |
| 05/06/26 vs Mesilla Valley Christian School | 7-6 |
The win (which was Jal's third in a row) raised their record to 17-8. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 1.67 runs across that stretch. As for Raton, the defeat snapped their winning streak at eight games and leaves them with a 23-5 record.
Jal and Raton are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. The Panthers will venture away from home to square off against Loving at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Falcons' pitching crew has only allowed 2.2 runs per game this season, so Jal's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Raton, they will square off against Eunice at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. The Cardinals have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 10.08 runs per game on average), something the Tigers will no doubt try to take advantage of.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
