Make Your Prediction: FHS-PV Renew Baseball Rivalry

Farmington and Piedra Vista play their second district baseball game Tuesday at Ricketts Park. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

I'd expect a pitching rematch between PV's Jake McCasland and Farmington's Nick Clayton.

Both pitched last Tuesday. McCasland threw a one-hit shutout in a 17-0 win over Kirtland Central. Clayton allowed four runs -- three earned -- in a 16-4 win over Aztec. Both coaches were pleased with their performances.

Clayton and McCasland allowed all the runs in PV's 6-4 win over the Scorpions on April 4.

The Weather Channel is forecasting a beautiful day, with clear skies, less wind than we've had recently and a first-pitch temperature of 75 degrees.

PV (17-4, 5-0) will clench their first district baseball title in school history with a win.

The Panthers' bats regressed a bit Saturday against Shiprock after they plated eight runs in the first inning. Coach Dick Laughlin said his players watched too many good pitches, a problem that's contributed to a bit of a slump for McCasland at the plate.

FHS (14-4-1, 3-1) needs to win to keep their streak of district championships alive. I assume they need to win by at least three runs to vault past PV in the standings, although the NMAA isn't kind enough to provide easy, accessible information on the tiebreakers on their Web site.

The Panthers' defense has steadily improved, and their offense has more power from top to bottom than Farmington's. McCasland's pitching provides PV a marked advantage in a single game. His fastball tops out in the upper 80s and he's been efficient too, striking out the side on nine pitches in at least two games this year.

I predict PV will win this game 5-4. I haven't seen anything from Farmington that shows me their offense can outslug PV's, and until I do, I have to consider the Panthers a slightly better team.

What's your prediction?