NMMI Sports Press

The Broncos completed a crucial sweep over conference foe Clarendon College Saturday at the NMMI Ballpark, overcoming the gusty conditions and some defensive snafus with timely hitting and solid performances out of the bullpen.

"A lot of guys had good weekends offensively. Danny (Lizarraga) had a great approach and was locked in all weekend. Jun Ho (Son) had a great series, (Julian) Payan and M.J. (Kim) had some clutch hits," said NMMI head coach Chris Cook. "A lot of runners left on in Game 4, especially in the heart of the lineup, but in those guys defense, late in the game, (Adonis) Bernal and (Junhyuk) Kwon stepped up with big hits."

In the seven-inning noon game, NMMI's win leader Ovier Alvidrez kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard through four innings, ending each frame with a strikeout. Clarendon's only runs in the game came in the fifth inning when Alvidrez gave up six of his 11 hits allowed, all singles.

The Broncos' offensive output was also confined to a single inning, as NMMI quickly got into scoring postion in the bottom of the second with singles from Lizarraga and Son and a sacrifice bunt from Kim.

Payan, playing in the DH spot, drove in the first two runs on a single to centerfield and Benicio Diaz followed with a single to left. With two outs, Bernal was hit by Bulldog starter Joel Hogan, loading the bases for the Broncos.

NMMI scored six runs off four straight hits — a sharp grounder to left by Seojun Oh, a line drive to left by Kwon, a deep double to center by Lizarraga and a single up the middle by Son — before Kim grounded out to end the inning.

Relief pitchers Dong Woon Yuk and Hee-Ryun Han handled the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, with each walking one and fanning another.

The final game of the weekend saw the first home start since Feb. 4 for sophomore right-hander Jason Maldonado, who allowed one hit and no earned runs with a walk and two Ks in two innings of work.

But the Bulldogs scored twice in the second inning when Maldonado gave up his only hit — a lead-off double to Stephen Courtney — and hit Aubrey Reed before an outfield error helped them cross home plate.

NMMI tied the game in the bottom of the frame and scored two more in the third to take the lead, but it would be a back-and-forth affair with four ties and five lead changes before the Broncos put up seven in the seventh to put the Dogs away.

The big inning began much like the only scoring frame in Game 3, with Lizarraga and Son getting into scoring position for Payan, who doubled to left to score two and bring NMMI within a run at 8-7.

Infield errors by Clarendon helped Adolfo Rondon reach base before Bernal singled in Elijah Moya, pinch running for Payan, to tie the contest at 8-all.

With Oh at bat, Bernal wasted no time taking second base and scored along with Rondon when Oh lined one to right, giving NMMI a 10-8 lead. The final two runs came off Kwon's laser homerun to left, the only hit of the game for the sophomore shortstop, who also hit a grand slam on Friday.

Efficient Bronco pitching through the first three games gave Cook plenty of options in the final matchup.

Yuk handled three innings, allowing two earned runs off six hits with two BBs and one K. Davian Molina pitched the sixth inning, giving up zero earned off a single hit with two walks and two strikeouts.

Aidan Zacarias earned the win tossing the seventh and eighth frames, allowing one run off two hits while issuing two walks and fanning one Bulldog. Julian Sullivan closed the game, sitting the 'Dogs down in order with two big Ks and a first-pitch groundout.

"We had some defensive miscues that really did hurt us. You don't feel it as much when you're wining by 10 runs, but in a close game, they build up," Cook said. "But Zacarias was effective enough to keep us in the game and then Sullivan did a good job closing it out, so some bright spots for sure."

The four-game sweep pushed the Broncos up the Western Junior College Athletic Conference standings to third place, one game ahead of Howard and Amarillo, teams still on NMMI's schedule along with El Paso and Western Texas.

"This series win keeps us in the mix, but we're going to have to continue to improve and play better," Cook said. "It'll be a real battle at the end of the year between, I think, five or six teams fighting for the third and fourth spot in the league."

The Broncos stay home next weekend to take on the WTC Westerners with Game 1 slated for a noon start on Friday.