NMMI Sports Press
Bronco Baseball opened the Western Junior College Athletic Conference with a doubleheader split against the visiting New Mexico Junior College Thunderbirds Friday afternoon at the NMMI Ballpark.
The Broncos only scored runs in three of the 15 innings in which they went up to bat, which was enough to hold on for the win in Game 2 as the air chilled and the sky darkened.
GAME 1 – NMJC 7, NMMI 6
NMJC wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as third baseman Brent Iredale worked a full count before blasting a Paul Ruiz pitch over the left field wall.
Ruiz dinged the next T-Bird hitter and first baseman Lane Arroyos made the Broncos pay, driving the runner in on a ground out to second to put NMJC up 2-0. Ruiz allowed a walk and single after giving up the runs, but got back on track with a big strikeout to end the inning.
NMMI returned fire in the bottom of the first frame with a single from third baseman Danny Lizarraga and a walk for first baseman Seojun Oh before shortstop Junhyuk Kwon laced a triple to left, tying the game at 2-2.
Next, designated hitter Julian Payan singled to right, scoring Kwon to take the lead. Centerfielder Adonis Bernal took two big hacks then singled to right before his outfield mate to his right, Bernie Socarras-Puig doubled to left to score two more runs.
During catcher Benicio Diaz' at bat, Bernal stole third base and then trotted home when the throw to third got away from Iredale, putting the Broncos up 6-2.
Ruiz allowed a single to open the second inning, but then recorded three-straight outs to get the hot NMMI offense back on the field.
But the Bronco bats cooled off while the Thunderbirds peppered runs across the next four innings to take a 7-6 lead into the final frame (the first game of NJCAA doubleheaders is typically a seven inning game).
NMMI head coach Chris Cook praised NMJC's top pitcher, Landen Yorek, for finding his rhythm and coming back strong from a rough first inning.
"We got on him early because he didn't have the secondary stuff working as well and we did a good job hitting some fastballs away," said Cook. "He's their No. 1 for a reason and he settled in and started executing his pitches. I don't want to say we lost focus offensively, but I'm willing to give him a lot of credit."
The Broncos had their chances to score throughout the middle innings of the contest, but suffered base running mishaps including Bernal getting thrown out at home plate in the bottom of the sixth after shortstop Luis Urias bobbled the hopper from Diaz, but collected the ball quickly to toss home.
In the bottom of the seventh, right fielder Ivan Cogles reached first on an error and second baseman Hee-Ryun Han moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Lizarraga grounded out to first, moving Cogles to third.
Oh worked a full count, but went down swinging to end the game.
"Our number's always eight and we didn't get to eight runs," said Cook. "We just have to figure out a way to scratch and claw and get that run or two."
Ruiz tossed five inning, allowing six runs off eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Sophomore righty Yuki Shigeyasu allowed a run off two hits with a K in the sixth inning and freshman Aidan Zacarias pitched a scoreless seventh, allowing one hit and fanning one.
Bernal and Lizarraga each had multiple hits while Kwon and Socarras each drove in a pair of runs.
GAME 2 – NMMI 10, NMJC 8
Sophomore right-hander Julio Ramos was on the bump to start the second half of the Friday doubleheader, making short work of the top of the T-Bird lineup in the first inning.
Ramos ran into a little trouble in the second frame, giving up a single to the first hitter and walking the next before recording the first out on a fly ball to left field. Ramos walked the next hitter to load the bases, but a three-pitch strikeout and a shallow pop got the Broncos out of the inning with zeros still on the board.
The NMMI offense got it going in the bottom of the second with back-to-back singles from Oh and Socarras-Puig, followed by a double to left by DH M.J. Kim to score two runs.
After a pop out, Han hacked a Donovan Becerra pitch to center to score Kim and give the Broncos a 3-0 lead.
Ramos kept the 'Birds off balance in the third, walking the first before sitting the next three with a strikeout, pop out to center and a soft liner to Han for the third out.
The Broncos made up for the first game's offensive drought in the bottom of the third with an 8-spot, kicked off by Kwon's homer to left, the only NMMI long ball of the day.
Payan singled and Bernal doubled, prompting the 'Birds to change pitchers. Issei Yanagisawa didn't get the help he needed from his defense as the first batter he faced reached first on an error by second baseman Erick Ballenilla, allowing Bernal to score.
Socarras-Puig doubled to deep left to drive in two more before Kim tripled to the centerfield wall to send Socarras-Puig home. Right fielder Elijah Moya's ground out pushed Kim home to make it 9-0.
With the bases empty and just one out, Han doubled on before Lizarraga drew a four-pitch walk and Kwon hit into a fielder's choice to move Han to third. Payan hit his second single of the inning to plate Han and give NMMI a commanding 10-0 lead.
The Bronco offense seemed to cool off with the weather, while once again the T-Birds chipped away at the lead and ended any chances for a mercy-ruled win for the Institute. Alejandro Maltos-Garcia kept NMMI off the scoreboard for the final four innings.
"(Maltos-Garcia) hadn't pitched much this year, but there's a reason he's on the team. He was really good with his breaking ball with two strikes," said Cook.
Ramos exited the game after five innings of work. The sophomore from Arizona allowed three runs off five hits with five walk and seven strikeouts.
Freshman lefty Davian Molina tossed two innings, giving up a run off two hits while walking one and fanning three. Baelyn Simmons picked up two outs in the eighth inning and Zacarias earned the save with a scoreless final 1.1 innings.
"I thought the starting pitchers both did pretty well for us and Zacarias threw well in both games," said Cook. "We have some stuff to clean up on the bases. Those base running mistakes hurt us in Game 1 and could've been the difference that kind of close game. Bullpen's gonna be a little bit stretched tomorrow, so hopefully we can score more runs and get back on it."
Game 3 of the four-gamer starts at noon tomorrow. If you can make it to the ballpark, watch free online at KSVPtv.com.