The Mercedes Tigers will take on the Rivera Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Mercedes has struggled recently with six defeats in a row, while Rivera will arrive with six straight wins.
Last Friday, Mercedes didn't have quite enough to beat Edcouch-Elsa and fell 11-9. That's two games in a row now that the Tigers have lost by exactly two runs.
Meanwhile, Rivera was able to grind out a solid victory over Donna North on Friday, taking the game 8-4.
Derrick Villarreal tossed a big game, striking out 11 batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Andres Rocha and Jesus Sanchez did most of the damage at the plate: Rocha got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple, while Sanchez went 3-for-4 with one home run and one double. Those two stolen bases gave Rocha a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Marcos Guerrero, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one triple.
Rivera's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-4. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Mercedes, their loss dropped their record down to 6-12.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
