The Sandia Matadors are taking a road trip to take on the Volcano Vista Hawks at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Sandia has five straight victories, Volcano Vista has seven straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Saturday, Sandia got the win against Eldorado by a conclusive 9-3. The Matadors might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten matchups by six runs or more this season.
Liliana Villanueva
| 04/19/25 vs Eldorado | 1 |
| 04/12/25 @ Manzano | 1 |
| 04/12/25 @ Manzano | 1 |
| 04/09/25 @ Santa Fe | 1 |
| 04/09/25 @ Santa Fe | 1 |
Liliana Villanueva made a splash no matter where she played. She tossed six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Villanueva was even better at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. She has been hot, having posted at least one home run the last five times she's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Aleena Duran, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one run. Another player making a difference was Natalie Uecker, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
Sandia was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .385 or higher in five consecutive contests.
Rio Rancho hit Volcano Vista with a nine-run fourth inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Hawks lost 19-11 to the Rams. Even if the Hawks couldn't come away with the win, the high-scoring effort was a great turnaround for their hitters, which had struggled int the games prior.
Neveah Padilla was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs. Avery Bell also deserves some recognition as she brought in her first RBI of the season.
Volcano Vista's loss dropped their record down to 8-14. As for Sandia, their record now sits at 12-8.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Sandia hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Volcano Vista struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.8 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Sandia was able to grind out a solid victory over Volcano Vista in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 9-6. Do the Matadors have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Hawks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
