NMMI Sports Press
In a tight conference race with little room for error, the Broncos took care of business at home Friday with two wins over the visiting Clarendon College Bulldogs.
Several NMMI hitters had extremely productive at bats through both games, with third baseman Daniel Lizarraga and right fielder Junho Son each accumulating six hits.
Lizarraga had a triple, a solo homer to score the first run of the day, three runs batted in and six scored, with one walk and no strikeouts. Son had four RBIs and scored five times.
Left fielder Bernio Socarras had five hits, all singles, and three walks which lead to five RBIs and four runs scored with no strikeouts.
Shortstop Jun Hyuk Kwon went 2-for-7, but drove in six runs and scored thrice, including a grand slam over the left field fence in the bottom of the third inning in Game 1 that blew the game open at 10-1.
Every Bronco that stepped up the plate drove in at least one run.
"We hit some balls hard and we also had some balls that fell into open spaces," said NMMI head coach Chris Cook. "We got deep into their pen, which is good for tomorrow. But we've still got to find a way to finish games. No offense to any opponent, but we need to find a way to get that extra run or two to end the game in five innings, which helps our bullpen."
Right-hander Julio Ramos got the start in Game 1, allowing four runs off eight hits with three Ks and two BBs over five innings of work.
Lefty reliever Davian Molina took over in the sixth inning, needing only 10 pitches to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard, sitting the opposing hitter down in order with two groundouts and a lineout all directed at second baseman M.J. Kim.
Needing two runs to end the game early in the bottom of the sixth, the Broncos had the bases juiced with two outs when Kwon wore a 2-1 pitch to walk catcher Benicio Diaz across home plate, who singled on earlier in the frame.
Lizarraga smacked the first pitch he saw straight to his counterpart at third, who had to take several steps toward home to scoop the high chopper and couldn't get back to his base in time to stop Bronco first baseman Seojun Oh from sliding in safe as Socarras scored to end Game 1 with a 14-4 NMMI victory.
Right-hander Paul Ruiz started Game 2, going three innings before being relieved by Yuki Shigeyasu, who also ended up with three innings of work in the run-rule shortened affair. Both pitchers allowed seven hits, including a home run off each, but settled in and kept the 'Dogs on a short leash.
After splitting last weekend's four-game series against Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas, the Broncos find themselves in a position where every game is crucial if they want to keep up in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference standings as the regional tournament approaches.
The top four teams from the WJCAC will make the trip to Waco to mix it up with the top four from the North Texas conference in mid-May with a berth in the Junior College World Series on the line.
Frank Phillips was in last place before taking two from the Broncos last Saturday. Clarendon now occupies that spot, but with high winds forecasted for Games 3 and 4, the dynamic could shift and things may not fall into place as easy for the Institute.
"Tomorrow will play different because the wind's gonna be coming in. Some of the balls that dropped for us today are not gonna drop tomorrow, or vice versa. Maybe it flips on the harder hit balls," Cook said. "Hopefully it'll be more of a pitcher's day. I know they need that and we could use it as well. It'll come down to who plays the best defense."
Cook went into the weekend leaving his fourth starter slot open, waiting to see what happens in Game 3 before pulling the trigger.
"We've put ourselves in a situation where the next game is the only thing that matters," said Cook. "We need a good start out of Ovier (Alvidrez) in Game 3 and then we'll have more options for Game 4."
Game 3 starts at noon. Watch live or later at KSVPtv.com.