The Sandia Matadors will face off against the Eldorado Golden Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Sandia sitting on four straight wins and Eldorado on 11.
Sandia is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They came out on top against Rio Rancho by a score of 9-5.
Meanwhile, Eldorado faced Los Lunas in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Golden Eagles walked away with a 12-7 victory over the Tigers.
Ethan Marquez made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Marquez was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
In other pitching news, Abram Pine looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Brody Hoffman, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. That's the most hits he has posted over his last 11 contests. Cirillio Martinez was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Eldorado was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .448. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive games.
Eldorado's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 23-7. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.2 runs over those games. As for Sandia, their record now sits at 22-8.
Sandia couldn't quite finish off Eldorado in their previous meeting back in April and fell 10-8. Can the Matadors avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
