NMJC (BB) Upsets Grayson in Game 1 of Region V Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 13 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
NMJC baseball used a 7-run seventh inning to upset the No. 2 seed Grayson Vikings on Thursday, May 8.
The Thunderbirds were the first on the board in the top of the second when Travis Vlasek drove in Casen Savage to take a 1-0 lead. Brayan Orrantia received the start on the mound for NMJC. The sophomore navigated a no out bases loaded jam in the top of the second to get out of the inning with a double play and a fly out.
The top play of the afternoon was in the bottom of the fifth inning when second baseman Luis Urias caught a line drive and dove on second to complete the double play and get the T-Birds out of the inning unscathed. Grayson evened the score at one apiece in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single to left field.
The seventh inning was all NMJC. A walk, an infield single, and an error loaded the bases. Julius Ramirez, the nation's No. 2 leader in RBIs, came to the plate and cleared the bases on a double to deep right field to push the T-Birds ahead 4-1.
One out later the T-Birds loaded the bases again on a walk and another error. Savage came to the plate and hit a double down the right field line that scored two more runs making it 6-1 T-Birds. Two batters later Travis Vlasek hit a bloop single to right field that scored the sixth run of the inning and made it 7-1. Savage scored on a fielder's choice by Urias which added the final run of the inning and made the score 8-1 NMJC after seven.
Grayson tacked on another run in the eighth which cut the deficit to 8-2 T-Birds. NMJC picked up two more runs in the ninth on a sac fly by Ramirez and an RBI single from catcher Jorge De Los Santos.
Brayan Orrantia pitched 7 1/3 innings allowing two earned runs, nine walks, and striking out four to earn his 12th win of the season (NJCAA No. 2). Brandon Stewart threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
DH Julius Ramirez batted 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs. Center fielder Casen Savage went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Right fielder Travis Vlasek was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs scored, and two walks.
If the T-Birds were to win the series they would travel to the highest remaining seed in the west (Odessa No. 1, Midland No. 2, NMJC No. 3, and No. 4 El Paso CC) for the four-team super regional the next week.
NMJC 38-18 (27-9) will play Grayson College in Game 2 (best-of-three) of the first round of the Region V Tournament Friday, May 9 at 1 p.m. CDT. The game will be streamed on TSBN sports here.
