The West Mesa Mustangs will venture away from home to square off against the Albuquerque Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in West Mesa's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs in their last three matches.
West Mesa played in-conference for the first time on Tuesday and got just the result they were looking for. They put the hurt on Rio Grande with a sharp 16-5 victory. The Mustangs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine games by eight runs or more this season.
Ellie Padilla
| 04/15/25 vs Rio Grande | 3 |
| 04/14/25 @ Del Norte | 2 |
| 04/09/25 vs Albuquerque | 4 |
| 04/08/25 @ Atrisco Heritage Academy | 1 |
| 04/04/25 vs Los Lunas | 1 |
| 03/29/25 vs Bloomfield | 1 |
Ellie Padilla was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three stolen bases, and five RBI. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last six games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Trinity 'Toots' Bazan, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four RBI, two runs, and one double.
West Mesa hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They are 6-2 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Albuquerque faced Atrisco Heritage Academy in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. The Bulldogs fell 8-5 to the Jaguars. The Bulldogs have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Albuquerque saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Raquel Waldrop, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, two doubles, and two RBI. Luna Diaz was another, going 1-for-4 with one home run.
Albuquerque's loss dropped their record down to 11-8. As for West Mesa, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 9-13.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. West Mesa hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Albuquerque struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
West Mesa might still be hurting after the 18-11 defeat they got from Albuquerque when the teams last played last Wednesday. Can the Mustangs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
