vs
| 03/14/23 - Home | 21-6 W |
| 03/22/22 - Home | 11-1 W |
| 05/17/21 - Home | 34-0 W |
| 05/11/21 - Away | 17-3 W |
| 03/26/19 - Home | 8-1 W |
| + 5 more games |
Santa Rosa is 9-1 against Tucumcari since April of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Lions will welcome the Rattlers at 4:00 p.m. Santa Rosa is coming into the contest hot, having won their last eight games.
On Saturday, Santa Rosa got the win against Estancia by a conclusive 21-1. Considering the Lions have won ten matches by more than six runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Andre Chavez made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Joshua Cordova was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That home run was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Sean Bonney, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI, one triple, and one run.
Santa Rosa was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .469. They are a perfect 9-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Tucumcari made easy work of Pecos on Saturday and carried off a 15-4 victory. The Rattlers haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Like Santa Rosa, Tucumcari also got a great game from a two-way player: Luis Archuleta. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). Archuleta was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, one triple, and one run. Tucumcari is 2-1 when Archuleta posts three or more RBI, but 3-5 otherwise.
In other batting news, Tucumcari let Pat Garcia and Trip Payn run wild. Garcia scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Payn went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Payn has become a key player for Tucumcari: the team is 4-2 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-4 otherwise. Jase Aughtman was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Santa Rosa's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-3. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.4 runs on average over those games. As for Tucumcari, their victory bumped their record up to 5-6.
Tucumcari's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Santa Rosa has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 13.1 hits per game. It's a different story for Tucumcari, though, as they've been averaging 11.3 hits. Given Santa Rosa's sizable advantage in that area, the Rattlers will need to find a way to close that gap.
Santa Rosa took their win against Tucumcari in their previous meeting back in March of 2023 by a conclusive 21-6 score. Will the Lions repeat their success, or do the Rattlers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
