The Los Lunas Tigers will take on the Bernalillo Spartans in a tournament on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Los Lunas is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Gallup 16-2 on Tuesday. The victory was nothing new for the Tigers as they're now sitting on four straight.
The team relied heavily on Lauren Lucero, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles. Those two doubles gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jaslene Duran, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI, one run, and one double.
Los Lunas was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .542. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Bernalillo made easy work of Espanola Valley on Tuesday and carried off a 20-3 win. The result was nothing new for the Spartans, who have now won five games by ten runs or more so far this season.
Teyonna Trancosa made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off eight hits. Trancosa was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and two doubles.
In other batting news, Bernalillo got a massive performance out of Bella Perez, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, six RBI, and three runs. That home run was Perez's first of the season. Calandria Montoya was another key player, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and three RBI.
Bernalillo has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. Los Lunas' win bumped their record up to 7-4.
Bernalillo's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Los Lunas has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.2 hits per game. It's a different story for Bernalillo, though, as they've been averaging 9.6 hits. Given Los Lunas' sizable advantage in that area, Bernalillo will need to find a way to close that gap.
Los Lunas skirted past Bernalillo 7-6 in their previous matchup back in March of 2022. Does Los Lunas have another victory up their sleeve, or will Bernalillo turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
