For the second straight game, Centennial will face off against Las Cruces. The Hawks will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Bulldawgs at 5:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Centennial 3.2, Las Cruces 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Centennial is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Las Cruces, who was ranked 15th at the time (Centennial was ranked 14th). The Hawks' pitchers stepped up to hand the Bulldawgs a 4-0 shutout on Monday. The victory continues a trend for the Hawks in their matchups with the Bulldawgs: they've now won six in a row.
Mateo Marquez was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Johnny Renteria, who got on base in two of his three plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
This is the second loss in a row for Las Cruces and nudges their season record down to 17-7. As for Centennial, their win bumped their record up to 18-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Centennial has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Las Cruces struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
