The Cibola Cougars will be playing at home against the Albuquerque Bulldogs at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Wednesday, Cibola never let their opponents score. They were the clear victor by a 14-0 margin over Los Alamos. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Cibola.
Maci Melvin was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Melvin was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Anna Barraza and Amaya Castille did most of the damage at the plate: Barraza scored three runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances, while Castille scored two runs while going 3-for-4. Presley Peek-ruscetti was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Albuquerque waltzed into their match on Wednesday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They blew past the Vikings 17-6. 17 seems to be a good number for Albuquerque as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Like Cibola, Albuquerque also got a great game from a two-way player: Raquel Waldrop. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching five innings while giving up three earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits (she also only allowed one walk). Waldrop has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Waldrop was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Natalia Padilla was a standout: she scored three runs while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Annika Stanley, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Cibola now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Albuquerque, their victory was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-2.
Albuquerque's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Cibola has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.3 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Albuquerque, though, as they've been averaging only 3.8 per game. Will Cibola keep running through batters, or will Albuquerque buck the trend?
Cibola suffered a grim 17-11 defeat to Albuquerque when the teams last played back in February. Can Cibola avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
