Badgers conclude road series in El Paso with run-rule victory
Despite a 3-1 series loss at El Paso Community College over the weekend, the Badgers offense continued to prove they’re a top-15 unit in the country.
Amarillo College had eight home runs, 36 hits, and finished the series against the Tejanos with a .598 slugging percentage.
Leadoff hitter Chris Benavidez and sophomore outfielder Sydney Ward hit two home runs apiece to pace the Badgers. David De Hoyos, Grant Watkins, Jan Avila, and Gerardo Prado had one homer each – moving AC’s season total to 40.
The Badgers dropped the first three games of the series before securing their sixth run-rule win of the season in game four by the score of 15-4. AC tallied 16 hits, four doubles, and two homers (Benavidez, De Hoyos) during the contest.
Through 28 games and three Western Junior College Athletic Conference series, AC ranks ninth in slugging percentage (.579), 12th in batting average (.351), and is tied for 14th in home runs at the NJCAA D-1 level.
Amarillo College is currently in a four-way tie for fourth place in the WJCAC standings with a 6-6 conference record.
The following is a summary of each game.
Game 1
El Paso pitchers Isaiah Gonzalez and Antonio Torrez recorded a combined 12 strikeouts – twice as many as AC hurlers – to lead the Tejanos to a 3-1 victory.
Amarillo College’s four hits in game one was the Badgers second-lowest mark of the season.
El Paso scored one run in the first, second, and third frames to build a 3-0 advantage. An Avila RBI single plated Cam Saleh in the sixth inning.
Payton Bush’s two hits pace the Badgers offense.
On the mound, Bret Deegan had three strikeouts and allowed three earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. His record is now 6-1 in seven starts.
Noah Turner added three strikeouts and no earned runs in the final 3 2/3 innings.
Game 2
Benavidez hit his fifth home run of the season on the first pitch of game and Watkins homered three at-bats later, giving AC a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first inning.
Ward added to the home run barrage via a three-run shot in the second inning. The homer propelled the Badgers to a 6-4 lead after two frames.
But the Tejanos rallied as the home team outhit Amarillo College 17-8 en route to a 13-8 win.
El Paso starting pitcher amassed 11 strikeouts and gave up six earned runs in six innings.
Amarillo College deployed three pitchers during the contest.
Freshman Carter Beard got his first career start and struck out four batters in three innings. The Abilene Wylie product allowed seven earned runs.
Freshman transfer Bryce Gilchrist had the longest outing of the season – 3 2/3 innings – and allowed four earned runs.
Sophomore lefty John Paul Hinojosa allowed no earned runs over the course of the final 1 1/3 frames as the team’s closer.
Game 3
El Paso’s three-run sixth inning turned a 6-6 tie into a 9-6 lead during the sixth inning.
The trio of runs propelled the Tejanos to a 9-7 series-clinching victory.
El Paso outhit the Badgers 14-8 – marking the third consecutive game AC trailed in hits.
Entering the series, the Badgers had not been outhit in two consecutive games.
The contest proved to be a nail-biter throughout as the teams were tied in three separate innings. AC garnered their lone lead of the game in the first frame via a Ward solo home run – his second homer of the series and seventh of the season.
The Tejanos took a 3-1 advantage by the end of the first inning.
An Avila solo homer run and a Ward RBI single, which plated Logan Tibbett, tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the first.
El Paso added two runs in the bottom of the frame and the Badgers responded with a pair of runs in the third, tying the game for the second time at 5-5.
A Watkins walk, Payton Bush double, Prado single, and Avila double scored AC’s pair of runs in the third inning.
The Tejanos took a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the third before the Badgers plated a game-tying run during the fifth frame. Deegan’s RBI single drove in Bush to tie the game at 6-6.
El Paso took a 9-6 in the sixth inning via three singles and a throwing error.
Prado hit a solo home run in the seventh inning for the Badgers.
Duncan Bowles recorded one strikeout and gave up six earned runs in his seventh start on the mound.
Colton Klemke threw the final three innings and finished the contest with two strikeouts and two earned runs.
Game 4
Lawson Peel earned his first career complete-game victory on the mound to conclude the series in the Sun City. Peel struck out two batters and allowed four earned runs in AC’s 15-4 win on Saturday.
Five Badger batters recorded at least two hits in the five-inning contest. De Hoyos had a career-high four hits – three singles and a home run – and Prado added four hits as the duo paced the Badgers at the plate.
Avila, Ward, and Tibbett scratched out two hits apiece.
In the fourth inning, the Badgers plated 10 runs to secure the run-rule stoppage. The total was the second-highest mark of the season in a single inning.
AC outhit El Paso 16-6 via three doubles, two homers, one triple, and 10 singles.