The Goddard Rockets will face off against the Chaparral Lobos at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Goddard is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They put the hurt on Los Alamos with a sharp 11-4 win. Considering the Rockets have won nine games by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Jaden Fuentes made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. What's more, he posted two strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his five plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
Lucien Betancur
| 04/19/25 vs Lovington | 6 |
| 03/20/25 vs Alamogordo | 6 |
| 03/28/25 vs Carlsbad | 5 |
| 05/02/25 @ Artesia | 4 |
| 04/11/25 vs Roswell | 4 |
| + 4 more games |
In other pitching news, Lucien Betancur looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. He has become a key player for Goddard: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one hit, but 11-13 otherwise.
Back at the plate, Donovan Davis and Brady Duer did most of the damage at the plate: Davis went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, while Duer went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. Those two stolen bases gave Duer a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Marcos Rodriquez, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Belen typically has all the answers at home, but on Saturday Chaparral proved too difficult a challenge. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Eagles 12-11.
The team relied heavily on Michael Molina, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three RBI. Aiden Munoz was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.
Chaparral has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 17-12 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.3 runs over those games. As for Goddard, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 13-14.
Goddard took their win against Chaparral in their previous meeting back in March of 2017 by a conclusive 13-0 score. Will the Rockets repeat their success, or do the Lobos have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
