The Belen Eagles will face off against the Hope Christian Huskies at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Belen has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with three straight defeats, while Hope Christian will come in with three straight wins.
Fans were treated to a battle of the Eagles on Saturday. Belen took a 6-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of Hobbs.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hope Christian). They blew past West Mesa 16-7 on Wednesday. That's two games straight that the Huskies have won by exactly nine runs.
Keegan Johnson made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Johnson was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two runs.
In other pitching news, Luciano Gabaldon looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and five unearned) runs off three hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Gavin Locker, who went a perfect 5-for-5 with six RBI, four runs, and two doubles. Those six RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jaden Wright, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
Hope Christian kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in five consecutive games.
Belen's loss dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Hope Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.
Belen couldn't quite finish off Hope Christian in their previous meeting two weeks ago and fell 5-3. Can the Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
