T-Birds split four-game series with El Paso

EL PASO — The New Mexico Junior College baseball team split a four-game series with El Paso Community College this weekend on the road, winning both games Friday via run-rule and losing a pair of close contests Saturday.

The T-Birds (19-10, 9-3) started the series Friday by winning 13-3 in five innings paced by blasting four home runs.

Jacy Cave had a pair of homers and was 3-for-4 with five RBI, Travon Benton homered while going 3-for-4 with five RBI while Jeff Deimling homered and was 2-for-2 with three RBI.

Mark Simon got the win for NMJC, going four innings and giving up a run on four hits with seven strikeouts and a walk.

In game two it was much the same for NMJC as the Thunderbirds won 12-2 in eight innings thanks to a four-run eighth.

Cave homered again (his 10th on the season - tied for third in the NJCAA) and was 3-for-4 with four RBI while Luis Pintor was 3-for-5 with three runs and Branden Grieger went 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Edwin Suarez got the win for NMJC, going five innings and giving up two runs on three hits with four strikeouts and five walks.

NMJC's fortunes changed Saturday as in the first game the Thunderbirds led 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh and final inning before El Paso (16-16, 4-8) scored twice off of closer Brett Worthen – who had been a perfect 10-for-10 on save opportunities (most in the NJCAA) and allowed just one run in 13 1/3 innings.

Worthen picked up the loss, going a third of an inning and giving up two runs on two hits with a walk and strikeout.

Jean-Francois Dionne started for NMJC and went six innings and gave up a run on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

The T-Birds had four hits in the game with all their scoring coming from a two-run double by Zac Sanders in the second inning.

In game two, NMJC and El Paso were tied 5-5 after five before El Paso scored one in the sixth and one in the seventh to come away with the win and split of the four-game series.

Reliever Isaac Lopez got the loss for the T-Birds, going two innings and giving up a run on three hits with two strikeouts. Fernando Fernandez-Beltran got the start, going two innings and giving up three runs (none earned) on three hits with a strikeout and a walk.

Pintor paced NMJC at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run, double and two RBI. Grieger was 2-for-3 with a double, triple and an RBI, Austin Botello was 2-for-3 with a triple, and JP Rousseau was 2-for-3.

The T-Birds are off next week and play again March 27 when they begin a four-game series at home against Frank Phillips.