The Animo Venice Pirates will square off against the Animo Leadership Aztec Eagles at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Animo Venice has given up an average of 10.6 runs per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last five times Animo Venice and Stella High Charter Academy have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Wednesday. The Pirates lost 13-3 to the Eagles. The Pirates haven't had much luck with the Eagles recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Meanwhile, Animo Leadership had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They blew past the Wildcats 18-4. The result was nothing new for the Aztec Eagles, who have now won nine games by six runs or more so far this season.
Salvador Lopez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. He is becoming a predictor of Animo Leadership's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 2-1 (and 9-10 when he doesn't). Lopez was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
In other batting news, Animo Leadership got a massive performance out of Alex Jimenez, who scored three runs and stole five bases while going 3-for-3. Jimenez has become a key player for the Aztec Eagles: the team is 5-1 when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 6-10 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Axel Serrano, who scored two runs and stole four bases while going 2-for-3.
Animo Leadership kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 14 hits in three consecutive matches.
Animo Leadership pushed their record up to 11-11 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Animo Venice, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-6.
Animo Venice might still be hurting after the 20-3 loss they got from Animo Leadership in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will the Pirates have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
