The West Las Vegas Dons will venture away from home to challenge the Santa Fe Indian Braves at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (West Las Vegas has eight straight victories, Santa Fe Indian has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
12 must be West Las Vegas' lucky number: they beat Miyamura with that score not once but twice on Friday. The Dons were the clear victors by a 12-3 margin over the Patriots. The Dons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 16 contests by six runs or more this season.
Malie Satete was a major factor no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over 6.2 innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 17 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Aliana Otero, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March. Yesenia Esquibel was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
West Las Vegas always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Miyamura only posted an OBP of .241.
The home team had won the previous four meetings between Santa Fe Indian and Robertson, and Robertson kept the tradition alive. The Braves fell 5-1 to the Cardinals on Tuesday.
Santa Fe Indian saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Misha Martinez, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one RBI.
West Las Vegas' win was their tenth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 19-4. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Santa Fe Indian, their loss dropped their record down to 12-11.
West Las Vegas' speedy runners might be the difference in Saturday's matchup. The Dons have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.3 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Santa Fe Indian, though, as they've been averaging only 0.8 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will West Las Vegas continue to outrun the ball?
West Las Vegas took their win against Santa Fe Indian in their previous matchup back in April by a conclusive 16-2 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Dons since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
