Peter Dindinger — NMMI Sports Press
After breaking out of the shell offensively during Day 1, the New Mexico Military Institute Bronco baseball team had a difficult time coming up with that clutch hit with runners in scoring position on Day 2.
On Saturday afternoon, the El Paso Community College Tejanos won both games by the scores of 7-4 and 6-5 at NMMI Ballpark to split the four-game series.
"We were hunting Bigfoot for 3 2/3 innings, looking for fastballs that weren't going to come," said NMMI head coach Chris Cook. "They did a good job offensively today on two-strike pitches that were miss executed by us, and they made us pay for that."
To start Game 3, the Tejanos took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after an RBI single by Deandre Llopiz.
NMMI answered back with a four-run rally in the bottom half of the frame.
Diego Solis drove in Rhett Stokes with a sacrifice fly to left. Guillermo Borquez then hit the go-ahead RBI single.
Trotter Boston belted his fourth home run of the season after he hit a two-run shot to right field.
The Broncos were held scoreless for the next six consecutive innings as they only tallied three hits during the span.
El Paso broke out of its offensive lull in the top of the sixth by pushing across four runs to take the 5-4 lead.
The Tejanos used three RBI doubles by Mauricio Millan, Humberto Fraire and Benito Hernandez as well as an RBI single by Jonathan Rios.
Rios later hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh to give El Paso a three-run cushion.
NMMI matched the Tejanos with nine hits.
Edrien Martinez finished 3 for 3 with a double and two singles while B.Y. Choi went 2 for 4 with two singles.
Adrian Rubio was dealt the loss after throwing 5.2 innings allowing five earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.
In the series finale, El Paso jumped out to a 2-0 lead after an RBI double by Joseph Rodriguez and an RBI single by Raul Ferniza in the top of the second.
The Tejanos added on another run in the fourth with an RBI groundout by Ricardo Gutierrez.
On an RBI single by Millan, El Paso led 4-0 in the fifth.
NMMI put together a comeback by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Borquez drove in two runs on a single to right while Jesh Leckey plated home Solis with a single.
With a leadoff triple by Stokes in the bottom of the seventh, Choi delivered the game-tying RBI single.
In the top of the ninth, the Tejanos gained a 5-4 lead with an RBI single by Milan. El Paso pushed across one more run as Hugo Diaz scored on a wild pitch.
The Broncos cut the deficit in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI double by Boston.
NMMI out hit El Paso 12-10.
Stokes and Solis went a combined 4 for 8 with three singles and a triple.
Choi, Leckey, Boston, Owen Alsup, Borquez, Martinez and Rubio all tallied one hit apiece.
NMMI left 10 runners stranded.
Drew Price struck out seven batters in five innings while he allowed four earned runs on seven hits to earn the no-decision.
"Really it was just a matter of two-out hits. We just didn't get that one hit," Cook added. "Credit to their pitching staff for being able to execute that many off speed pitches in the zone.
"(There's) some things that we could've done better obviously, but they (EPCC) came out and played much better today."
>> UP NEXT: NMMI travels to Odessa College for a four-game series next week beginning Thursday. First pitch is at 12 p.m. CDT.
Game 3
El Paso Community College 7, NMMI 4 (7)
EPCC……1000042 — 7 9 1
NMMI….4000000 — 4 9 0
Iain Campa, Robert Loya (6). Adrian Rubio, Demitrius DiMatteo (6), Marc Rios (7). W — Campa. L — Rubio. 2B — EPCC: Mauricio Millan (2), Benito Hernandez, Humberto Fraire; NMMI: Edrien Martinez. 3B — None. HR — EPCC: Jonathan Rios; NMMI: Trotter Boston.
Game 4
El Paso Community College 6, NMMI 5
EPCC…..020110002 — 6 10 2
NMMI...000030101 — 5 12 0
Kenneth Dutka, Carlos Maldonado (7), Andres Perez (8). Drew Price, Albert Oliva Velez (6). W — Perez. L — Velez. 2B — EPCC: Joseph Rodriguez; NMMI: Trotter Boston. 3B — EPCC: Benito Hernandez; NMMI: Rhett Stokes. HR — None.
Records — El Paso Community College (23-17, 10-6); NMMI (20-19, 6-10).