The St. Michael's Horsemen will take on the Espanola Valley Sundevils in a tournament on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
St. Michael's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Mescalero Apache 17-0. The Horsemen might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 games by six runs or more this season.
Nadia Cedillo made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing four bases while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Karolina Ruiz
| 04/11/25 vs Mescalero Apache | 1 |
| 04/10/25 vs McCurdy | 2 |
| 04/08/25 vs Portales | 1 |
In other batting news, Jaslene Ramirez and Karolina Ruiz did most of the damage at the plate: Ramirez went 1-for-2 with one home run, two stolen bases, and two runs, while Ruiz got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. Ruiz is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played. Hailey Valdivia was another key player, scoring a run and stealing four bases while getting on base in both of her plate appearances.
St. Michael's always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .958. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Espanola Valley can bid farewell to their seven-game losing streak thanks to their game on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 19-0 margin over Thoreau. That 19 run margin sets a new team best for the Sundevils this season.
Like St. Michael's, Espanola Valley also got a great game from a two-way player: Aliah Villalobos. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). That hit marked the first that Villalobos allowed this season. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring four runs while going 3-for-3. Those four runs gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Espanola Valley got a massive performance out of Dionicka Maestas, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four runs, and four RBI. Those four RBI gave Maestas a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Aliya Rael-Lopez, who scored four runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3.
The victory made it two in a row for St. Michael's and bumps their season record up to 11-1. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 1 runs in those games. As for Espanola Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 3-10.
Espanola Valley's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: St. Michael's has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.1 hits per game. It's a different story for Espanola Valley, though, as they've been averaging 11.5 hits. Given St. Michael's sizable advantage in that area, the Sundevils will need to find a way to close that gap.
St. Michael's took their win against Espanola Valley in their previous meeting two weeks ago by a conclusive 19-10 score. Do the Horsemen have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Sundevils turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
