NMMI Sports Press

The Colts handled their business Saturday at the NMMI Ballpark, taking two from the defending state champion Sandia Prep Sundevils to stay undefeated at the halfway point in the District 4/5-3A schedule.

NMMI benefitted from long, efficient starts from pitchers Tegin Maloney and Richard West, as well as strong relief innings from Nicolas Barcenas and Cole Seidenberger.

Maloney went the distance in Game 1, tossing strikes on 60 of his 83 pitches as he allowed one run off two hits with just two walks and 10 strikeouts.

In Game 2, West allowed two earned runs off five hits with no BBs and two Ks over five innings of work. Barcenas handled the sixth inning, allowed one run off a hit with one walk and two strikeouts. Seidenberger closed the game, allowing a single hit and fanning two.

“Tegin and Richard pitched their tails off today and Cole came and closed the door,” said NMMI head coach Brad Blackwell. “Cole is getting better every time out and hopefully we’ll be able to use him more in those types of situations. Top to bottom, pitching was great today.”

On the offensive side, first baseman Grant Maloney was locked in, turning in a 4-for-5 performance across both games, with five runs batted in and zero strikeouts. The sophomore was a perfect 3-for-3 in Game 1, driving in four of the Colts’ five runs.

Catcher Luis Patron and designated hitter Nicolas Barcelo each hit 2-run doubles in the fourth inning of Game 2 as the Colts pulled away from the Sundevils.

“I think we’re playing our best baseball of the season, we’re not committing errors, our approach has been good,” Blackwell said. “They’ve got a dead week coming up and then finals after that and we’re just making sure they stay focused on the little things they can control.”

The Colts have nothing but doubleheaders the rest of the way, with the next two coming next Saturday at East Mountain. NMMI downed the T-Wolves 9-5 at NMMI Ballpark on April 9, the only district loss for East.