Las Cruces is 2-8 against Centennial since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Las Cruces Bulldawgs will head out on the road to challenge the Centennial Hawks at 7:00 p.m. Las Cruces is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games.
Las Cruces can now show off nine landslide victories after their most recent contest on Friday. They blew past Alamogordo 8-2.
Gunnar Guardiola tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out ten over five innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Ryan Padilla was a standout: he went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Diego Avila was another key contributor, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with three RBI and a double.
Meanwhile, Centennial faced Organ Mountain in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Centennial took a 9-4 hit to the loss column at the hands of Organ Mountain.
Centennial also got a good showing from Ralph Silva, who tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, Manny Grajeda was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Gilberto Torres, who scored a run while going 3-for-4.
Las Cruces' victory bumped their record up to 16-7. As for Centennial, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 16-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Las Cruces has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Centennial struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Las Cruces couldn't quite finish off Centennial in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 and fell 6-4. Thankfully for Las Cruces, Steven Milam (who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
