The Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars will face off against the Los Lunas Tigers at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Los Lunas will be up against a hot Atrisco Heritage Academy squad: the team just extended their winning streak to five. The Jaguars were the clear victors by a 23-1 margin over Highland on Monday. The Jaguars' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Ariana Lara made a big impact no matter where she played. She tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (two). She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Larissa Morinia was a standout: she got on base in three of her four plate appearances with four runs, two stolen bases, and one triple. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Melanie MacIas, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base.
Atrisco Heritage Academy kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. They are a perfect 13-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, Los Lunas had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. Everything went their way against the Mustangs as they made off with an 8-2 win.
Like Atrisco Heritage Academy, Los Lunas also got a great game from a two-way player: Natalie Madrid. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing six innings while giving up just two earned runs off nine hits. Madrid has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one walk in seven consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.
In other batting news, Haidyn Garley and Jaslene Duran did most of the damage at the plate: Garley got on base in all three of her plate appearances with two RBI and one double, while Duran went 2-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Aaliyah Vigil was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Atrisco Heritage Academy's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-5. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Los Lunas, their victory bumped their record up to 15-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Atrisco Heritage Academy hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Los Lunas struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Atrisco Heritage Academy came out on top in a nail-biter against Los Lunas in their previous meeting on April 1st, sneaking past 6-4. Do the Jaguars have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Tigers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
