Pictured: Connor Chavez
By: Justin Hargrove, Assistant Athletic Director
Northeast Texas Community College Baseball hosted the North Conference leading Navarro Bulldogs on Saturday, April 22nd and came away with a series split with Navarro winning game one 10-2 and NTCC taking the win in game two, 4-3.
Navarro jumped to an early lead after starter Seth Cox (Fairview, Texas) go the lead off man out but three walks led to a grand slam and a 4-0 lead for Navarro. Four more runs in the second inning by the Bulldogs put the Eagles in a hole 8-0.
NTCC got on the board in the third inning to cut the Navarro lead to 8-2 when Raef Wright (Burleson, Texas) singled with one out. Cox would come to bat next and be hit by the pitch to put two runners on for NTCC. Bryce Johnson (Fairview, Texas) would earn a two out walk to load the bases. Wright would take advantage of a passed ball and get the Eagles on the board with Cox now moving up to third where he would score on a Carson Lorch single to right field to earn the Eagles their second run.
The Bulldogs scratched out two more runs in the top of the sixth to move the score to 10-2 which would end up the final score of game one.
The Pitching staff for the Eagles consisted of starter Cox, and then Matthew Howell (Huntsville, Texas) and Mason Reynolds (Fate, Texas).
Game two was much more of a back and forth battle between the Bulldogs and Eagles. While Navarro got on the board first in the top of the second to lead 1-0, NTCC answered the score with a run of their own in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 1-1.
Connor Chavez (Lantana, Texas) started things off with a double and then tied the game when Anthony Capobianco singled to centerfield to score Chavez and tie the game.
Navarro plated two more runs in the top of the fourth inning to move to a 3-1 lead, but NTCC would not give up and tied the game at 3-3 following the Eagles at bat during the bottom of the fourth.
Carson Lorch (Cypress, Texas) lead off with a single and advance to second when Rohan Sanganeria (Santa Clara, CA) was hit by a pitch to give NTCC another base runner. A Sac-Bunt by Camden Mitchell (Flower Mound, Texas) advanced Lorch to third and Sanganeria to second base. Chavez knocked both runners’ home with a single to center field to tie the game up for NTCC.
A few scoreless innings brought the Eagles to the final frame with the score still tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Capobianco would get hit by the pitch to lead off the inning. Raef Wright would ground out to the pitcher but by putting the ball in play Capobianco advanced to second base and gave the Eagles hope with a runner in scoring position with one out.
Seth Cox drew a walk to put runners on first and second before out number two brought Bryce Johnson (Fairview, Texas) to the plate. With two outs and runners on base, Johnson would work it to a one ball, two strike count before doubling to left field to end the ball game when Capobianco raced home from second base for the walk off win.
Capobianco and Chavez would have two hit games with Capobianco adding two walks to be two for two with two walks one run scored and one RBI.
Austin Burda (Mansfield, Texas) would start game two and go four and two-thirds innings before the Eagles went to the bullpen. Kevin Schoneboom (Mansfield, Texas) came in for two and one-third innings of work before giving way to Mason Kosowick (Fort Worth, Texas) for the final two innings of work.
NTCC will close out the season with two final series, one road game at Angelina on Wednesday and then then final games at home on Saturday, April 29th against Bossier Parish Community College.
