Cowboys Continue to Lead 2-1 in the Series Against Rangers

Las Vegas, NM- The New Mexico Highlands University Baseball team took on the Regis University Rangers in a doubleheader today.
 
Regis University Rangers Game 1
Senior pitcher Cody Lawson started the day on the mound for the Cowboys. The Rangers found a way to score in the top of the first off of an error by the Highlands field. The Cowboys answered right back with a 3 run inning. Senior Brad Blackwell got on base first with a huge triple. Junior Luis Ornelas wasted no time in getting Blackwell home as she slapped a double to get on base. Senior Jeremy McCarty came up next and also hit a double, this time scoring Ornelas for the second run of the inning. Junior James Cordova came up with the third straight double as he picked up the RBI with McCarty scoring to make the score 3-1.
 
The Rangers had a solid second inning as they scored 4 runners off of 4 hits. After giving up the lead momentarily, the Cowboys quickly tied the game with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning. Junior Codie Simmons led off the inning with a single. Shortly after, Senior Easton Garcia doubled down the right field line, allowing Simmons to cross home. Ornelas flew out to center, but Sophomore Joseph Cilladi tagged up and scored to make the score 5-5.
 
The Rangers scored 4 unanswered runs through the top of the fourth inning. The Cowboys finally found an answer in the bottom of the inning as Simmons smacked a solo homer.
 
The top of the fifth was tough for the Cowboys as they used three different pitchers and gave up 9 runs in the inning. Ornelas led off the bottom of the inning with a double. Cordova hit a double of his own to push Ornelas across the plate. Junior Preston Inman got in on the action as he doubled to left, allowing Cordova to score.
 
The Rangers scored 3 more runs in the top of the sixth as they took a 21-7 lead into the bottom of the inning. Then, the Cowboys exploded with 7 runs of their own. Ornelas picked up a 2 RBI single as Garcia and Cilladi found home. Cordova came up and hit a single that scored Blackwell, and Junior Eduardo Perez singled to bring Ornelas home.
 
The Cowboys gave up 2 more runs in the top of the seventh and struggle to get much going at the bats as they fell in the first game, 16-23.
 
Regis University Rangers Game 2
Senior pitcher Dylan Norris got the nod to start the second game of the day, and he got out to a good start as only allowed one hit in the top of the first. Garcia opened up the bottom of the inning with a single. Blackwell also came up and hit a single that put Garcia on third. Ornelas grounded out to third next, but he allowed Garcia to come home for the first score of the game. McCarty came up with a huge triple that scored Ornelas right after. Perez capped off the scoring with a double that scored McCarty to make the score 3-0 after one.
 
Norris continued to keep the Rangers at bay in the third as he had yet to allow a score. Blackwell led off the bottom of the inning with a single. next up, Ornelas was hit with a pitch, putting him on. McCarty came up and hit a single that scored Blackwell and put runners at the corners with no outs. Perez was wise with his pitches and earned his way onto base with a walk, loading the bases with still no outs. Ornelas scored on a wild throw by the Rangers, then Perez scored off of a double by Simmons to make the score 7-0 at the end of three.
 
The Rangers finally scored their first run of the game in the top of the fourth, but the Cowboys were set for a rally. They scored 4 more runs off of 6 hits in the inning. Blackwell scored off of a single by McCarty, and Ornelas scored off of a single by Perez. Senior Emilio Medina smacked a two RBI double to top off the rally, allowing Perez and McCarty to score.
 
The Rangers scored once more in the top of the fifth inning off of a wild pitch, but Norris otherwise kept them in check. The Cowboys were not done scoring yet as they pour on another 6 runs in the bottom of the inning. This gave them a commanding 17-2 lead after five innings.
 
Regis scored one more run in the top of the sixth off of a fielding error. The Cowboys answered back with a two RBI double by Cilladi, scoring Simmons and McCarty. Then, Garcia hit a single to right field, scoring Medina.
 
Norris handled the Rangers in the top of the seventh as the Cowboys cruised to a 20-3 victory.  
 
The Cowboys will conclude their series with the Rangers tomorrow, March 26^th, at 12:00 p.m.
 
Go Cowboys!