Karen Boehler — For NMMI Sports Press
LA JUNTA, Colo. — The Bronco baseball team picked up right where it left off Sunday in a pair of Monday matches against Otero Junior College, hitting the ball long and hard while keeping the opposition off base.
The pitching again was key, as NMMI won 10-2 and 6-0.
"Overall, it was really good," said head coach Chris Cook. "There were a few at bats where we got a bit erratic, but for the most part our pitching is really solid.
Offensively, the Broncos put up a picket fence through the first four innings of Game 1, scoring a solo run in each stanza until the fifth, when they added three before closing it out with two in the ninth,.
In the first, Edwin Martinez Pagani doubled; Rudy Solis singled; and Guillermo Borquez got the RBI with a sacrifice fly to right.
A walk to Mario Chacon and a Victor Jimenez double made it 2-0 in the second, then in the third, Solis walked, Borquez singled and Gavon Clemons singled in Jimenez for a 3-0 lead.
On the mound, Ty Villareal kept the Rattlers scoreless thorough the first two innings, but back-to-back triple and single made it 3-1 NMMI, and a walk and a passed ball by reliever Robert Loya gave Otero one more run.
With two outs in the fourth, Cam Stevenson tripled and came home off a double by Martinez Pagani.
The fifth was NMMI's biggest scoring inning, with a single by Borquez and run-scoring double by Chacon. Jimenez singled, then, with two outs, Derek Vanasse walked, Borquez went to third on a wild pitch and came home on a Chacon double. A Stevenson single scored Jimenez.
The Broncos added another two in the sixth, again scoring on two outs. Solis singled to open the stanza, then two batters later, Chacon, Jimenez and Ryan Flake all singled, bringing two runners in.
And NMMI made sure they scored in every inning, adding a final run in the seventh when Martinez Pagani walked, took second on defensive indifference, went to third on a fielder's choice then came home on an Otero error.
Three Bronco pitchers held the Rattlers to two runs on four hits. Villareal went 2.2 innings, allowing both runs and two hits. He walked two and struck out two.
Loya went three, striking out eight while allowing only one hit and no walks, while Ryan Flake closed the game, striking out one and walking one.
"Ty Villareal actually threw better than what his numbers look like," Cook said. "He was off just a hair; just enough to extend his pitch count. Bobby Loya came in and was just fantastic. I think he threw 44 pitches. They were all fastballs. Just was locating fastballs with high velocity."
Game 2 was night and day from the previous three, at least at the plate.
Offensively, the only scoring came from NMMI in the sixth and seventh innings. Prior to that, the Institute had chances — including a runner on third who tripled on the third pitch of the fifth inning — but couldn't bring anyone home. Meanwhile, Bronco pitchers Jorge Garcia, Julian Lopez and Tristan Copeland held the Rattlers to two hits and one walk while striking out nine. (Although Copeland must have given fans watching on line a near heart attack as he gave up an opening single in the bottom of the seventh then threw a wild pitch and hit a batter before striking out the side to end the inning.)
"We did a good job today on the mound," Cook said. "Jorge Garcia started Game 2. Might have been the sharpest of all our pitchers, as far as rotating his pitches. He was lights out."
NMMI got on board in the sixth, scoring two on two-out singles by Borquez, H Gonzales Rodriguez and a two-run error, and the final run on an error by the Otero catcher. Although those were all the runs needed, the Broncos tacked on another three in the seventh.
Nunez and Martinez Pagani walked, then Josh Crabtree hit the only home run of the day, sending the ball out in left.
"Took us a little while to get going offensively in Game 4, but we were able to capitalize on a couple of mistakes of theirs defensively, until that last inning when Josh Crabtree hit an 0-0 pitch extremely hard over the fence to give us a three-run cushion. We'll take it, definitely. It's something to build off."
The Institute will have two weeks to find places to improve before heading to Lamar College in Colorado Feb. 13.
"They're going to pressure us a little differently than Otero did on the bases so we're going to have to continue to work. We'll have to build up some experience and confidence with some bullpen arms and then defensively we played solid, but there's just some little things we need to work on. Just fine tuning a lot of different things and just trying to gradually improve."