The Ray Texans will take on the Rio Grande City Rattlers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Ray is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.
Ray took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Monday. They walked away with a 7-3 victory over Gregory-Portland. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last three times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Ray let LUCAS TINAJERO and XZAIDEN DEANDA run wild. TINAJERO went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI, while DEANDA went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. Those three RBI gave DEANDA a new career-high. Another player making a difference was DOMINIC SOLIZ, who went 1-for-2 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Rio Grande City entered their tilt with Roma on Friday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They blew past the Gladiators 9-1.
Hiram Lopez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Aaron Benavidez, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That home run marked the first that he has launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Evan Marroquin, who went 3-for-4 with two runs.
Rio Grande City kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.2 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 8.8.
Ray pushed their record up to 18-11 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. As for Rio Grande City, their win bumped their record up to 14-10.
