NMMI Sports Press
The hot-hitting Midland Chaparrals put up 56 runs against the Broncos across the four-game series Friday and Saturday, winning three out of four with at least 13 runs in each victory.
But the one arm the Chaps could not figure out was freshman lefty Ovier Alvidrez, who allowed three runs off seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a 7-3 Bronco win in Saturday's first game. He tossed 91 total pitches, 66 for strikes.
The complete-game performance gave Alvidrez his team-leading fifth victory of the season. The Santa Teresa High product also leads NMMI in innings pitched (38) and earned run average (2.579).
"He continues to pitch really well for us. His pitch count was super low going into that last inning, so we just let him roll with it," said NMMI head coach Chris Cook. "That's a good hitting team, so he did a really good job. And we had some timely hitting against another good arm to give us some breathing room late in the game."
Centerfielder Adonis Bernal went 3-for-3 with three runs batted in and one base on balls. Catcher Seojun Oh was 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored and third baseman Daniel Lizarraga went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
The Bronco offense was far from dormant in the final game of the series, a 23-10 loss. In fact, it was the first time this season that NMMI lost a game where they scored at least 10 runs.
Bernal and Son again had multiple hits and second baseman M.J. Kim went 2-for-2 with a homer and drove in four runs.
Alejandro Torres got the start in Game 4, but left after giving up five earned runs in the first inning.
"He just wasn't feeling right, so we shut him down really early and that put us in our bullpen, which is thin right now with a couple injuries and the game kind of got out of hand," said Cook.
After three Western Junior College Athletic Conference series, the Broncos are 6-6, tied with Amarillo, El Paso and Odessa for fourth place. They face a short week and a trip to Borger, Texas to face the Frank Phillips Plainsmen on Thursday and Friday.
"Not a great series, but the win keeps us in the mix," Cook said. "The short week will be a challenge for the starting pitchers, but they're in the same boat. I anticipate another slugfest and we'll need the bullpen to help us out so we don't have to stretch our starters on short rest. I know Frank can hit. It'll be a challenge."