NMMI Sports Press
The Colts picked up two crucial district wins over the visiting East Mountain Timberwolves Friday at the NMMI Ballpark, walking off the first game for a 12-11 victory and then holding on for a 6-4 win in the late contest.
Down 11-10 in the bottom of the final frame, sophomore pitcher and shortstop Tegin Maloney drove in the winning runs on a chopper to second base that the East infielder couldn’t handle.
Maloney went 3-for-5 with five RBIs, one of four Colts with three hits in the ballgame. The Colts racked up 18 hits and were only walked four times. With the middle of the lineup struggling, NMMI head coach Brad Blackwell was glad to see the bottom three hitters have a big day at the plate.
“The top and bottom of the order really picked it up today,” said Blackwell. “To have a freshman like Caden Carter go 2-for-2 and get a base hit late in that game to put us ahead and keep us in a close game, that’s huge.”
Seniors Sergio Gonzales and Gentry Caplan each had three hits and scored a pair of runs and Game 2 pitcher Edmundo Briseno went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs without a strikeout.
Maloney tossed three-and-a-third innings in the first game, allowing six runs on six hits with five Ks. Junior David Cobia gave up four runs and fanned four in 2.2 innings of work.
After a walk to start the top of the seventh, Caplan took the mound and put another East runner on with a hit by pitch. A fielding error allowed one run, tying the game at 10-10, followed by a full-count walk to load the bases.
Caplan got East lead-off man Logan Aucker to fly out, but the T’Wolves took the lead on the sacrifice. The next hitter fouled two off before watching the third strike, and Caplan got the final out on a fly ball to right.
“We had some misplayed balls in the infield and some misreads in the outfield, letting guys stretch singles into doubles or doubles into triples,” Blackwell said. “But I like the way these guys are trusting each other when it gets tight. I’m seeing less ‘me’ and more ‘team’.”
The second game was a quiet affair compared to the 31-hit early game.
Briseno allowed four runs off five hits with one strikeout and three walks during a 79-pitch effort that lasted six innings. Senior first baseman Miguel Rivera closed out the seventh without allowing a hit. The final out came on a pick off at first base.
The Colts scored two runs in the third and four in the fourth and didn’t commit an error.
Junior catcher Luis C. Patron went 3-for-3 with an RBI and Briseno was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
The wins give the Colts (18-3, 9-2 in district) some breathing room in the standings, but the Institute will be rooting for the Ruidoso Warriors tomorrow as they take on Sandia Prep, who sits at 8-2 and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over NMMI.
“Winning these takes a little pressure off, but this district is tough,” said Blackwell. “We’ll try to carry this momentum into Monday at East Mountain and Tuesday here against Tucumcari, who gave us a scare at their place.”
The Colts final regular-season home game against the Tucumcari Rattlers is at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The four Colt seniors (Rivera, Caplan, Gonzales and B. Mego) will be honored prior to the game.