NMMI Sports Press
The Colt Baseball team got off to a hot start Saturday at the Hal Bogle Tournament in Dexter, as starting pitcher Tegin Maloney had a no-hitter through four innings while the offense racked up 11 runs in the first two frames.
But the Institute had to weather an eight-run fifth by the Santa Rosa Lions and add a few insurance late in the game to punch their ticket to the championship game with a 16-11 victory.
Maloney had a monster game on both sides of the plate, allowing two earned runs off four hits with 10 strikeouts from the mound, and from the batter’s box, the sophomore went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in.
“He was throwing a no hitter and finally gave up a hit 72 pitches in,” said NMMI head coach Brad Blackwell. “He dominated on the mound and pitched well enough to be out of that game in five innings, but our defense has got to put their bodies on the ground and make plays.”
Much like Friday’s contest, mid-game errors by the Colts allowed the opponent to grab momentum and stay in the game, but NMMI added three runs in the bottom of the sixth, including an inside the park homerun from Miguel Rivera, before sophomore right-hander Ryan Mego was able to shut down the Santa Rosa bats in the final inning.
“He came in and threw about 80 percent strikes, and when you throw strikes you’re gonna give up some hits and that’s when you have to have confidence in your defense,” said Blackwell. “He came on to pitch in a tough situation and I thought he responded reall well. I think he’ll help us out a lot from the mound moving forward.”
Offense hasn’t been an issue, as NMMI tallied 14 hits and only struck out six times, but the young Colts have a tendency to let off the gas when a big lead has been achieved.
“We seem to go into cruise control when we’re up by 10 or more and maybe this game showed them that they can’t let up until it’s over,” Blackwell said. “Once you start being lackadaisical, it’s a domino effect and pretty soon they’ve scored eight runs.”
Sophomore outfielder Nicolas Barcenas went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and didn’t strikeout, first baseman Rivera was 2-for-3 with two RBI, three runs scored and two walks, and freshman utility man Caden Carter entered the game late and went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
The Colts (4-1) will play the winner of the nightcap between Grady and Loving for the 2023 Hal Bogle Championship tomorrow night (Saturday, March 18) at 6 p.m. in Dexter.