Nolan Bushko (Haslet, Texas)

NTCC Baseball Picks Up Road Win Over Hill College

Northeast Texas Community College baseball took to the road on Monday, February 27th, to take on Hill College in a non-conference contest. NTCC scored early and often to bring home the 11-6 win over the Rebels.

Caleb Reynolds (Frisco, Texas) got things going in the first inning with a one-out single and then used his speed to steal second and third bases and eventually score on an error for the early Eagle lead, 1-0.

The second inning started well also, as Nolan Bushko (Haslet, Texas) doubled to start the inning off and moved to third on a ground ball to second and then scored when Caleb Edmonds (Risin, AR) grounded out to shortstop to put NTCC up 2-0.

Hill College cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the third to bring it to 2-1 NTCC, but the Eagles would open it up with a four-run fourth inning.

Bushko, who would go three for five on the day, led off with a single to left-center field and moved up ninety feet to second and third on singles by Edmonds and Paxton Ponder (Frisco, Texas) and eventually scored on the double by Anthony Capobianco (San Antonio, Texas). Edmonds would score on the double as well, and then Ponder came home on a Sac-Fly by Reynolds to push the Eagle lead to 6-1.

NTCC added one run in the seventh with Short Stop, Carson Lorch (Cypress, Texas) reaching on a one-out single. Lorch scored two batters later when Bryce Johnson (Fairview, Texas) hit a triple to right-center field.

Hill College tried to get back in the contest in the half of the seventh with a four-run barrage with a mix of hits, walks, and wild pitches, but NTCC was able to hold on to a 7-5 lead.

Two runs in the eighth and two in the ninth by NTCC would put the game out of reach for NTCC to bring home the win. Edmonds and Ponder would score in the eighth inning, and Lorch and Jose Magallanes (Holly, CO) would each walk and eventually score to lead 11-5.

The Rebels would scratch out one final run in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t get back in the game, and the Eagles came away with the road victory. Five Eagles would have multiple hit days to power the NTCC offense to the win.

Eight different Eagles saw time on the mound in the game to combine to give up five runs on eight hits and strike out seven Hill College batters.

Eagle Softball Sweeps National Park College

Wet field conditions pushed the Northeast Texas Community College matchup with National Park College to Sunday, February 26. The Eagles used that extra day to prepare and came away with a sweep. Game one saw NTCC defeat the Nighthawks 6-0 and win a back-and-forth contest in game two 11-10.

Braylynn Henderson (West Columbia, Texas) started in the circle in game one and went the complete game for the Eagles. In game one, Henderson struck out six and induced nine flyouts to keep the Nighthawks off the board.

Haley McAlexander (New Boston, Texas) would lead off the game with a single, use her speed to make her way around the bases, and get the Eagles on the board in the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead.
NTCC would pick up another run in the third inning when Raelyn Kinard (Lake Jackson, Texas) reached via a walk and later scored on a single by Jalissa Alvarez (Mount Pleasant, Texas) to increase the lead to 2-0.
The Eagles once again added a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to move ahead 3-0 when Giselle Fuentes (Lacissine, LA) singled and came around to score on a bases-loaded walk.

The fifth inning also provided a run for NTCC to move to 4-0 with a solo home run by Jalissa Alvarez (Mount Pleasant, Texas).

The Eagles would put the game away for good with they added the final two runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when Carson Zachry (Mount Pleasant, Texas) and Kinard would hit back-to-back singles with one out and score on the double by Kailey Hancock (Pollock, Texas).

Game two action was more back and forth for both teams, with NTCC pulling out the victory in the bottom of the seventh on a Sacrifice Fly by Giselle Fuentes.

National Park got things going first and took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but NTCC answered with a run of their own in their half of the inning to lead 2-0. McAlexander started the game off with a single and was later joined by Zachry on the bases as she singled. Back-to-back singles by Kinard and Lilly Galaviz (Denton, TX) would plate McAlexander and Zachry to recapture the lead 2-1.

NTCC would add to the lead in game two with a run coming across the plate in the second inning, with Skylar Liebrecht (Lakewood, CA) leading off with a single and making her way around the base paths to eventually score to move the game to 3-1.