Softball Game Preview: Sandia Matadors vs. Manzano Monarchs

The Sandia Matadors will head out on the road to take on the Manzano Monarchs at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Sandia will be strutting in after a victory while Manzano will be coming in after a loss.

Last Wednesday, Sandia made easy work of Santa Fe and carried off an 18-2 win. The victory continues a trend for the Matadors in their matchups with the Demons: they've now won eight in a row.

Liliana Villanueva was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Villanueva was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and three RBI.

Destiny Romero

Runs (Career)

04/09/25 @ Santa Fe	3
03/28/25 vs Bernalillo	2
03/14/25 vs Bloomfield	2
03/13/25 @ Albuquerque	2
03/27/25 vs Kirtland Central	1

In other batting news, Destiny Romero and Mia Duran did most of the damage at the plate: Romero scored three runs while going 2-for-3, while Duran scored three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Those three runs gave Romero a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Alyssa Gutierrez, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI.

Sandia always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .576. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Santa Fe only posted an OBP of .375.

Meanwhile, Manzano was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They came up short against Albuquerque Academy, falling 10-0.

Manzano saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Shania Aragon, who went 1-for-2 with one double.

Sandia now has a winning record of 9-8. As for Manzano, their loss dropped their record down to 4-13.

Sandia took their win against Manzano when the teams last played back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 16-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Matadors since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.