DENVER - It was two very different results for baseball on Saturday afternoon (May 2), but after a 17-4 loss in game one, the Cowboys rebounded with a 5-4 win in game two as New Mexico Highlands (21-25, 15-21 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) split at Regis (21-31, 15-25 RMAC) on the final day of the 2015 season.
The Cowboys got the single swing going in the top of the first of game two. With one out, senior
EJ Stanton walked, swiped second and scored on senior
Morgan McCasland's single. Seniors
Omar Garcia and
Joe Cervantes singled to put Highlands up 2-0. After a run in the third, Garcia hit a two-run home to left. It was his ninth home run of the season and ties McCasland for the team lead in home runs (nine) in 2015.
Garcia was a triple short of the cycle in three at-bats with two runs and two RBI's. Junior
Alex Gutierrez picked up a win in his only decision of the season, allowing four runs on 11 hits for the complete-game win.
The Rangers tallied three runs in the seventh and had the tying run at second, but Gutierrez was able to close out the game. Regis had a pair of walks to begin the inning before both runners moved into scoring position thanks to a passed ball. With one out, Logan Knox flew into a sacrifice fly. PJ Catera then hit an RBI double to cut the Highlands lead to two. Brian Sture then hit a double to score the third run of the inning. With the tying run in scoring position, Gutierrez got a ground out to end the game.
Matt Heibult took the loss and finished the season 7-3, allowing seven hits and five runs (four earned) in five innings of work.
The Cowboys led 3-2 after five innings in game one, but Regis scored 15 runs in their final three at-bats for the win. Tied at one after three, Garcia singled and senior
Joe Cervantes hit a double to put a pair of runners in scoring position. A passed ball and a groundout scored both runners and gave Highlands a 3-1 lead. Regis added one in the bottom of the fourth.
With a hit in the game, Stanton improved his hitting streak to 16 before failing to get a base knock in game two. Garcia - who led the team on the season with a .392 batting average - tallied a hit in both games to end the season on a 14-game hitting streak.
Junior
Avery Brandon (1-8) took the loss, allowing seven runs (six earned) and 12 hits in 5.1 innings pitched.
Regis blew the game open with six runs in the sixth and six more in the seventh. In the seventh, the Rangers scored all its runs and having no one on and two outs.
In the sixth, Connor Rochon singled and scored on Ryan Bendict's double. Mickey Meinhofer then reached on a error to score Rochon. A sacrifice bunt moved Meinhofer to third. After a walk and a steal and an error scored a run and put a runner on third, Drew LaComb homered to left field to put the home team up 7-3. An error on a fielder's choice scored the eighth run of the inning.
LaComb finished the game a triple short of the cycle, going 4-for-4 with four runs and two RBI's. Knox was 3-for-6 with three RBI's. Jordan Blaylock (2-1) threw the final six innings for the home team, allowing three runs and five hits.
