Peter Dindinger – NMMI Sports Press
Behind a well-rounded outing, the New Mexico Military Institute Bronco baseball team continued their wave of good momentum by sweeping the Community Christian College Saints during a doubleheader Saturday by the scores of 8-2 and 9-1 at NMMI Ballpark.
The NMMI pitching staff combined for 20 strikeouts.
In Game 3, Drew Price fanned 10 batters in five innings of work while allowing two hits. In the previous game Jorge Garcia stuck out five batters and allowed five hits.
"Drew pitched well. He commanded his fastball really good today and was in the zone consistently," said NMMI head coach Chris Cook. "His stuff was tough to hit and he got a lot of swinging strikeouts.
"Jorge didn't pitch poorly, maybe he was a tad up a little bit. For the most part he pitched well."
In the first game, things got off to a slow start until Edwin Martinez Pagani hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third to put the Broncos up.
The Saints then got on the board when Pedro Chayeb scored on a catcher's interference in the top half of the fourth.
NMMI put together a three-run rally in the bottom half of the frame that was highlighted by a pair of RBI singles from Henner Gonzalez Rodriguez and Ryan Flake.
Guillermo Borquez hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to extend NMMI's lead to 7-2.
The Broncos pushed across their final run on an RBI single by Gavon Clemons in the sixth.
Derek Vanasse finished 2 for 3 with two singles while Pagani went 1 for 3 with a walk and two RBI.
To start the nightcap, NMMI scored its first run on an RBI double from Albert Oliva Velez in the opening frame.
Rudy Solis then hit a solo homer to right center in the second to extend the Broncos' lead to 2-0.
NMMI used a seven-run rally to make the score 9-0. Noah Nunez hit a grand slam in the big inning.
Hector Hernandez drove in a run on a single for Community Christian to push across the final run in the seventh.
Nunez finished 1 for 3 while Solis went 1 for 1 with a walk and two RBI.
Velez hit a pair of doubles to go 2 for 3 with two RBI and Jayden Diaz went 2 for 3 with two singles.
NMMI finishes its four-game series against the Saints with a single, nine-inning game at 12 p.m. Sunday, March 7.
The Broncos open conference play at Odessa College on March 19.
"We're just trying to sharpen up some stuff. We got to make sure we're doing the little things right," Cook said. "(We're) still off to a great start and I'm proud of how these guys have gotten out of the gate this season. Now the pressure's on to keep it up."