Connor Chavez

Eagle Baseball Splits with Navarro

Northeast Texas Community College Baseball hosted the North Conference-leading Navarro Bulldogs on Saturday, April 22. They ended with a series split, with Navarro winning Game 1, 10-2, and NTCC taking the win in Game 2, 4-3.

Navarro jumped to an early lead after starter Seth Cox (Fairview, Texas) got the leadoff 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, ending up the final score of Game 1. 

The Pitching staff for the Eagles consisted of starter Cox and then Matthew Howell (Huntsville, Texas) and Mason Reynolds (Fate, Texas). 

Game 2 was a back-and-forth battle between the Bulldogs and the 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 center field 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) led off with a single and advanced to second when a pitch hit Rohan Sanganeria (Santa Clara, CA) 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 our number two brought Bryce Johnson (Fairview, Texas) to the plate. With two outs and runners on base, Johnson would work it to 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.

NTCC will close out the season with two final series, one road game at Angelina on Wednesday and then final games at home on Saturday, April 29, against Bossier Parish Community College.