July 6 — Hobbs, NM. Ray Birmingham, NMJC Professor, P.E./Head Baseball Coach, has been selected as an Assistant Coach of the NJCAA All-Star Team competing competing in Beijing, China this summer. The team will meet in Millington, Tennessee on July 7 and depart for China on the 11th. They will play a five game series with China and return to the USA on July 20th.
The NJCAA has a long history of international competition dating back to 1990. The NJCAA All-Star Teams have traveled to Cuba, Mexico, Japan and now China. The NJCAA All-Stars will travel to China this summer and again in 2008. China came to Millington, Tennessee in 2002 and will return in 2006.
This is a great educational, cultural and baseball experience for all and an especially great honor for Ray Birmingham and the college.
May 20 — Hobbs, NM.
Birmingham Baseball Hitting Camp Poster (PDF)
Birmingham Baseball Camp Application (PDF)
April 30 — Borger, TX.
April 22-25 — El Paso, TX.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 2 1 - 8 12 2 Midland 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 1 0 - 7 11 1 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- Odessa 3 2 1 4 0 0 1 2 0 - 13 13 1 New Mexico JC 1 0 4 4 0 4 4 0 0 - 17 17 6 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 2 4 - 11 10 0 Odessa 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 - 3 7 5 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats
The
Thunderbird Baseball Team was treated to a ride in the new Activity Bus as they
headed to the WJCAC Conference Tournament in El Paso, Texas. Their first game
is April 23 at 10:00 am , at Cohen Stadium.
April 19-20 — Clarendon, TX.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 1 0 0 3 1 0 3 0 0 - 8 9 1 Clarendon College 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 - 4 9 3 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 5 11 4 Clarendon College 1 0 0 0 6 2 1 0 0 - 10 10 1 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 3 0 Clarendon College 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 0 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 - 5 5 1 Clarendon College 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 - 4 3 5 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats
April 16-17 — Roswell, NM.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 0 0 3 1 2 2 6 0 0 - 14 15 1 NMMI 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 3 9 1 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 0 2 2 0 2 3 0 3 0 - 12 16 3 NMMI 0 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 6 9 4 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 0 0 0 0 0 6 2 0 0 - 8 12 1 NMMI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 3 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
---------------------------------------------------------
New Mexico JC 0 2 4 11 3 0 0 0 0 - 20 16 0
NMMI 0 3 3 0 4 0 0 0 0 - 10 10 1
--------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats
April 9-10 — Hobbs, NM.
Game 1
It was a scoreless game until the second, when FP scored once. Then FP scored
once more in the third. In the fourth, both teams threw-up goose eggs again.
Once again, FP scored one in the top of the fifth. That three-to-nothing lead
seemed to re-kindle a sound that Thunderbird field had not had in 4½
innings. The sound of the T-Birds aluminum making solid connections with the
ball was what had been absent from the ears of T-bird fans. When the dust cleared
and the rally was over, the T-birds led by one – 4-3. Three of those four
runs came from a rocket-like homer hit by Luis Rodriguez. The other run came
from a solo blast by Logan Parker.
FP tried to mount a comeback in the top of the sixth, but could only tie the game with one more run. In the bottom of the sixth, NMJC must have had FP’s pitchers’ number as they knocked in five more runs, including a three run dinger by John Henry Marquardt. FP changed pitchers in the next inning to try to counteract the T-Birds assault, “but the damage was done,” said coach Ray Birmingham. So was the scoring for the seventh and last inning. Final score, T-birds 9, FP 4.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- Frank Phillips 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 - 4 6 2 New Mexico JC 0 0 0 0 4 5 0 0 0 - 9 13 1 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Game Video
Game 2
FP struck early – three runs in the first four innings – and the
Thunderbirds scored nothing, nada, zilch. That was until the bottom of the fourth
when the T-birds exploded with four runs. That put them on top 4-3. “Matt
Averitt pitched a great game,” stated coach Birmingham. That is the reason
that the FP side of the scoreboard remained blank for the rest of the game.
In addition, just to ensure that FP stayed on the losing end of this game, NMJC
pelted out two more runs in the eighth.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- Frank Phillips 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 10 3 New Mexico JC 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 2 0 - 6 9 2 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats
Game 3
This game was an unusual one for the T-birds. The bats were somewhat silent.
No matter, the bats were very silent for the FP team also. In fact, NMJC pitcher
Johnny Lujan sat 12 out of 23 batters down with K’s, gave up three hits
and one free pass, all within seven innings. Coach Birmingham stated, “We
scratched out one run in the second inning, then sat and watched Lujan pitch
his butt off!” That one run was all it took to defeat FP.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- Frank Phillips 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 1 New Mexico JC 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 6 1 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats
Game 4
This time NMJC took a one run lead to start things off. This run proved to give
the T-birds the winning edge as both teams scored and equal number of runs for
the remainder of the game.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- Frank Phillips 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 - 3 6 2 New Mexico JC 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 - 4 7 0 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ---------------------------------------------------------
New Mexico JC 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 9 1
Cochise College 0 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 - 9 10 0
--------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- Eastern AZ 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 5 0 New Mexico JC 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 3 8 2 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 0 0 5 2 0 0 1 0 0 - 8 11 1 Western AZ 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 - 6 7 0 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- Pima 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 4 0 New Mexico JC 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 5 1 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- South Mountain 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 7 0 New Mexico JC 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 2 7 3 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
--------------------------------------------------------- Indian Hills 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 2 5 0 New Mexico JC 0 3 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 - 9 13 1 --------------------------------------------------------- Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ---------------------------------------------------------
New Mexico JC 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 - 3 10 2
El Paso 3 3 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 - 11 14 1
---------------------------------------------------------
Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ---------------------------------------------------------
NMMI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 2 New Mexico JC 7 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 - 10 9 0
---------------------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- NMMI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 0 New Mexico JC 2 0 3 1 3 2 0 0 0 - 11 14 0 ---------------------------------------------------------
Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------------------- NMMI 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 - 2 6 0 New Mexico JC 0 7 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 - 10 13 0 ---------------------------------------------------------
Game Stats Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ---------------------------------------------------------
NMMI 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 3 2
New Mexico JC 9 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 - 14 16 0
---------------------------------------------------------
Game Stats
March 14-15 — Borger, TX.
Game 1
This game was a classic pitching duel between both colleges’ pitchers.
Joe Winn hurled for FP and Mitch Goins tossed for NMJC. Neither team scored
until the fourth inning when Tony Harper from FP launched one over the fence.
That was the only run scored in the entire game. Ace pitcher, Mitch Goins shut
down the rest of the lineup allowing only two hits in 9 innings. That one homerun
by FP was the only run scored in the game as NMJC lost by one.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ------------------------------------------ New Mexico JC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 0 Frank Phillips 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 2 0 ------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game 2
The first loss must have ignited a flame of reality underneath the players,
because they beat FP in game two 11-7. John Henry Marquard, Renny Osuna and
Grant Alexander each stole bases. Grant Alexander smashed the game's only homer.
The win went to 95 mph hurler Johnny Lujan.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E ----------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 5 - 11 9 1 Frank Phillips 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 7 12 3 ----------------------------------------------- Game Stats
Game 3
The T-Birds kept the action going the next day with a 14-2 romp over FP. This
time John Henry Marquard, Mitch Goins (2), Renny Osuna, Lee Ellis and Cody Fielding
all blasted doubles. Renny Osuna slammed a triple. Finally Logan Parker, Mitchell
Goins and Armadis Padilla all rocketed home runs. Johnny Lujan got the win and
Mitch Goins scored another save.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
-------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 0 2 0 2 2 2 6 0 0 - 14 14 1 Frank Phillips 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 2 9 4 --------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game 4
The last game in the series was a little more nail-biting, as the Thunderbirds only won by 4: 12-8. Logan Parker (2), Mitch Goins, Grant Alexander, and Cody Fielding all popped doubles. John Henry Marquard, Luis Rodriquez, Logan Parker, and Lee Ellis skied homers. Joshua Giles pitched a win for the Thunderbirds.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------
New Mexico JC 0 0 2 0 1 3 4 2 0 - 12 18 3 Frank Phillips 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 3 0 - 8 12 3 --------------------------------------------
Game Stats
March 7-8 — Hobbs, NM.
T-Birds Win Conference Season Opener
The Thunderbirds couldn’t have asked for a better conference
season opener than the one they earned on March 7th at the start of a four game
series with the Clarendon College Bulldogs. The game started off with both teams
registering goose eggs in the first. Clarendon was blanked in the second while
NMJC scored two. Again in the third, NMJC blanked Clarendon, but the T-Birds
scored one more. That was all of the scoring for that 7-inning game. Mitch Goins’
performance was excellent on the mound as he tossed a one-hit shutout. Players
who got hits were John Henry Marquard, Mitch Goins and J.M. Devarie.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ------------------------------------------- Clarendon College 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 1 New Mexico JC 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 3 0 -------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game 2
The second game of this series went totally opposite of the first game. The
Bulldogs jumped ahead with two runs in the first, followed by another in the
second. NMJC got on the scoreboard with one in the fourth, but that run was
answered immediately by Clarendon in the fifth. In the sixth and seventh, neither
team scored. But in the eighth, the Bulldogs took four runs and the T-Birds
answered with only one. Both teams brought back zeros in the ninth which left
the score Clarendon 8, NMJC 2. Pitching for the T-Birds were Matt Averitt who
went for 4.6 innings, Eli Elicerio who pitched for 2.6, Kevin Smith pitched
for 1.3 and Cody Harkcom sealed the last out of the ninth with a strike out.
Despite a valiant effort displayed by NMJC, they had to settle for splitting
the doubleheader.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E -------------------------------------------- Clarendon College 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 - 8 15 1 New Mexico JC 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 - 2 9 2 --------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game 3
On Monday, NMJC finished their four game series with Clarendon College by playing
games three and four. John Henry Marquard was part of the story of this game
for NMJC. He managed three hits off of three at bats. Fantastic pitching was
the other part. Johnny Lujan struck out seven batters while giving up only three
runs in a complete seven-inning game. Even though the Thunderbirds lost the
game 3-2, Lujan’s ERA remains a microscopic .075. The only runs NMJC scored
were from Kory Johns and John Henry Marquard.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ------------------------------------------- Clarendon College 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 3 4 1 New Mexico J 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 4 3 -------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game 4
The last game between the T-Birds and the Bulldogs was played right after the
third game. Clarendon wasted no time in putting four runs on the board within
five innings.
Clarendon battered NMJC’s first pitcher – Joshua Giles – as he only went for two innings and gave up six hits that resulted in three runs. Cody Harkcom pitched for six-and-a-third and gave up four runs out of 28 batters faced. Pitching for two-thirds of the ninth was Clay Folloder, who gave up 0 runs, 1 hit and no walks. When it was over, the final score was NMJC 2, Clarendon 7. Giles took the loss and Nick Hetland, from Clarendon, got the win.
The T-Birds' next four game series is at home vs. Frank Phillips College, March 12 and 13th.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E -------------------------------------------- Clarendon College 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 - 7 12 3 New Mexico JC 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 - 2 6 1 --------------------------------------------
Game Stats
February 27-28 — Hobbs, NM.
Game 1
Dodge City scored one in the first, but NMJC answered right back with one of
their own in the first. Two goose eggs came in the second, then in the third
and fourth and fifth, NMJC scored 3,2,1, respectively. The score was 7-1, then
in the top of the sixth, DC scored twice, and once in the eighth. It was over
in the ninth with the T-Birds winning 7-4.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E ------------------------------------------- Dodge City 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 - 4 9 0 New Mexico JC 1 0 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 - 7 9 1 ------------------------------------------- Game Stats
Game 2
This win can definitely be credited to fantastic pitching. Johnny Lujan pitched
6 strong innings of shut-out ball. He gave up only two hits, issued two walks
and struck out 7. In his relief, Jesse Rodriguez pitched 3.3 innings, gave up
2 hits and 2 walks from 12 batters. But he finished off DC by completing the
shut-out. DC never got a run, but NMJC blasted 22 runs off of 28 hits, making
the final score a 22-0 thrashing.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------- Dodge City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 7 New Mexico JC 3 1 2 7 3 2 2 2 0 - 22 28 1 --------------------------------------------- Game Stats
Game 3
This game had a different flavor than the last. Both DC and NMJC opened the
first inning with a run. The second inning looked as if NMJC was going to run
away with the game again, as they blanked DC and scored four more. DC scored
twice in the top of the third, and two more times in the fifth to tie-up this
nine inning game. NMJC managed to score one in the seventh, and that was all
of the scoring there would be. The final score was NMJC 6, Dodge City 5. Stephen
Gonzales, Travis Heeke, Grady Gorman and Scott Stemo all pounded doubles; John
Henry Marquard and Marc Noble each blasted triples and James Bennett 2 and Logan
Parker each hit homeruns. Pitching for NMJC were Matt Averitt and Kevin Smith.
Smith pitched 5 innings to gain the win.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ------------------------------------------- Dodge City 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 5 11 0 New Mexico JC 1 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 6 9 0 ------------------------------------------- Game Stats
Game
4
With Dodge City still reeling from the previous close loss, the two teams again
exchanged runs in the first. DC scored their one run, but NMJC turned the tables
and racked up three. It wasn’t until the third that NMJC struck again
with three more. In the fifth NMJC added another, but DC retaliated with one
in the sixth. NMJC was hungry and scored another in the seventh. Both teams
scored twice in the eighth and neither scored in the ninth. NMJC swept the series
and amassed a 20-0 pre-conference record.
Stephen Gonzales, Scott Stemo, Ryan Younger, Mitch Goins had stolen bases, and Renny Osuna took two. James Bennett, Travis Heeke and Armadis Padilla all added salt to DC’s wounds by smacking homers.
The baseball team has never had a 20-0 record to start the season. Even the fantastic team of 1991 only had a 19-0 record.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E -------------------------------------------- Dodge City 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 - 4 8 1 New Mexico JC 3 0 3 0 1 0 1 2 0 - 10 16 1 -------------------------------------------- Game Stats
Video Highlights from Game 3 and Game 4
Game 1
February 20 — Odessa, TX. It really doesn’t matter who
or where NMJC plays; the whole team exhibits a “can’t lose”
attitude. In the first inning of game 1, NMJC scored one and scored three in
the fourth. Odessa scored their lone run in the fifth. The win in this game
is attributed to Mitch Goins. “Mitch is an awesome player and right now
he’s pitching his butt off. He’s the type of player you don’t
have very often. Mitch is a winner,” said Coach Ray Birmingham. Also,
Erin Satteriee punched a double, Grant Alexander drilled a miraculous triple
and Josh Talley slammed a homer. When the ninth inning was over, NMJC won 4-1.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ------------------------------------------ New Mexico JC 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 7 0 Odessa 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 6 1 ------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game 2
February 20 — Odessa, TX. The 13-0 T-Birds were ready to up their
record to 14-0 Friday afternoon in game two of a doubleheader against Odessa
College. Much like game one, NMJC struck while the iron was hot and scored the
first run of game one in the first inning. The NMJC powerhouse struck again
in the top of the third with four more runs, but Odessa answered with two in
the bottom. In the fifth NMJC scored two and one in the eighth. Odessa took
back two runs in the bottom of the eighth, and that was all the runs scored
in that nine inning game. Armadis Padilla, Logan Parker 2, Grant Alexander,
Lee Ellis, each hit doubles. Renny Osuna pumped a triple, Josh Talley and Josh
LaTour each rapped four baggers. “Matt Avery pitched and took a line drive
in the leg. This happened early in the game and he still held them to two runs,”
said Coach Ray Birmingham. Kevin Smith got the save. In the end, NMJC scored
11 and Odessa had four.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------- New Mexico JC 1 0 4 0 2 1 0 3 0 - 11 15 1 Odessa 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 4 7 0 ---------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game 3
February 21 — Hobbs, NM. Game three was Saturday at Thunderbird
field, and Johnny Lujan pitched a shutout with one hit. When he started throwing
95+ mph. heat across the plate, Odessa batters were getting hits about as much
as it snows in Lea County. Contributing to the cause were Logan Parker and Renny
Osuna with long balls. Everyone except one player for would end the slaughter-rule
shortened game with at least one hit. After 5 innings, the final score was the
T-Birds 10 - Odessa 0.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E -------------------------------------------- Odessa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 0 New Mexico JC 3 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 - 10 13 1 --------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game 4
February 21 — Hobbs, NM. It took 13 innings to beat
Odessa College by one run in the last game of a four game series. Despite home
runs by Luis Rodriquez, Logan Parker, Armadis Padilla and Lee Ellis, NMJC could
never quite pull ahead far enough to close the deal. In 13 innings, NMJC went
through five of their pitchers: Cody Harkcom, Joshua Giles, Eli Elicerio, Kevin
Smith and Clay Folloder. The last pitcher endured the longest in the game, lasting
nearly five innings. He picked up the win as the T-Birds won it 18-17 in 13.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E ------------------------------------------------ Odessa 0 1 1 O 4 0 3 1 0 0 2 - 17 20 0 New Mexico JC 3 0 7 0 2 3 0 0 0 1 - 18 22 4 ------------------------------------------------
Game Stats
February 15,16 — Hobbs, NM.
Game One
Although the Thunderbirds didn’t score many runs in their first
game against Arapahoe Community College, they didn’t allow their opponents
to do so either. In fact, Arapahoe scored one run to NMJC’s six. That
might surprise some people seeing, as NMJC is a heavy hitting team. Pitching
from Adam Camacho held the Thunderbirds to one run until the fifth inning. During
that inning NMJC exploded with 5 more runs. Mitch Goins – one of NMJC’s
awesome right-handers – pitched seven very solid innings giving up one
run on two hits and striking out 11. Coach Ray Birmingham said, “Mitch
pitched an awesome game.”
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------- Arapahoe 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 4 0 New Mexico JC 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 - 6 7 1 ---------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game Two
In a seven inning game there are 21 outs, 15 of those were strikeouts
courtesy of Johnny Lujan. There were only three hits off of this phenomenal
right-hander out of 26 at bats. Grant Alexander hit the only long ball in the
game as the Thunderbirds won 9-2. “Johnny had a fantastic game,”
said coach Ray Birmingham.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ------------------------------------------ Arapahoe 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 2 3 0 New Mexico JC 1 0 5 0 0 3 0 0 0 - 9 8 1 ------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game Three
Monday, Arapahoe Community College came to Hobbs to play. Matt Averitt pitched
extraordinary ball until the top of the sixth. In that inning he gave up a hit
and coach Ray Birmingham pulled him to rest his arm. He was replaced by Ricardo
Ibarz in the sixth, then Jesse Rodriguez closed in the seventh. In this game
Luis Rodriguez smacked two homers. Luis Rodriquez, Grant Alexander and Armadis
Padilla each smacked doubles, and finally Renny Osuna walloped a ball that turned
into a triple. Matt Averitt got the win as NMJC shut them out 15-0.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E --------------------------------------------- Arapahoe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 0 New Mexico JC 3 4 0 3 4 1 0 0 0 - 15 12 0 ---------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Game Four
In the second game the result was pretty much the same in game one of that day
if you give each team one more run each. The final score of the game was 16-1.
Cody Harkcom pitched 5 innings and struck out 12. Joshua Giles pitched the sixth
and Kevin Smith closed in the seventh. In this game, Lee Ellis took his turn
at hitting the long ball, Mitch Goins, Logan Parker and Grant Alexander cracked
doubles, lastly Luis Rodriquez and Marc Noble struck triples. “Harkom
had struggled with his placement before, but he made the adjustments we asked
him to and struck out 12,” said Birmingham.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E -------------------------------------------- Arapahoe 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 6 0 New Mexico JC 2 2 8 1 1 2 0 0 0 - 16 17 0 --------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Writer’s Summary
I think that this four game stretch was different from others. Usually, the
T-Birds are all about power – and plenty of it. But in these four games,
it was not only about the smoldering hickory; it was about the finesse of marking
K’s (strikeouts) on the scorecard. “Our pitching was amazing during
this four game stretch,” said coach Ray Birmingham. “Jason Matthews
(pitching coach) has done a phenomenal job,” he said.
February 8 — Hobbs, NM. It was the closest game in the series — 3-5. Josh Talley and Lee Ellis each hit home runs. Josh Talley had one, and Luis Rodriquez had two stolen bases. The Thunderbird powerhouse again struck early as they had a four run third. WT answered with one in the fourth, the T-Birds answered right back in the fifth with one. WT scored twice in the sixth, and that was all the runs scored by both teams. Johnny Lujan was the winning pitcher for the T-Birds with a complete game.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E ------------------------------------------ Western Texas 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 - 3 6 0 New Mexico JC 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 5 8 0 ------------------------------------------
Game Stats
February 8 — Hobbs, NM. The first inning wasn’t quite as explosive as the day before, nonetheless, the T-Birds only scored one. However, the second inning was quite a different story. They blasted through four more runs. Josh Talley and Grant Alexander hit home runs. Talley almost went for the cycle, but he lacked, of all things, a single. The Thunderbirds held Texas to one run, which Eric Brown drove in. The score was 12-1. The T-Birds had 12 runs on 13 hits.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E -------------------------------------------- Western Texas 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 3 0 New Mexico JC 1 4 2 0 0 5 0 0 0 - 12 13 0 --------------------------------------------
Game Stats
February 7 — Hobbs, NM. It didn’t mirror the first game last week. This time the T-Birds wasted no time in posting three runs on the board early against Western Texas. In the first inning of the first game, NMJC scored seven runs. Mitch Goins, Lee Ellis and Grant Alexander each nailed homers. Additionally, Trey Roberson, Logan Parker hit long balls and Mitch Goins hit another later in the game. On the mound for the T-Birds was sophomore Mitch Goins. He had 7 strikeouts and only one base on balls. Galindo Pena for Western Texas gave up 15 hits and 15 runs, 14 of them earned runs. Closing the seventh for the T-Birds was Chance Black, who gave up one hit, and struck out three. Black earned a save while Goins secured a win. The Thunderbirds won the game 17-3.
In game two of the double header, things didn’t go much better for Western Texas. Not only did Eric Brown, Jay Tust, Logan Parker and Lee Ellis smack homers, but it was a virtual “steal-fest” for NMJC. Chase Gilbert 2, Josh Heiney, Luis Rodriquez 2, Josh Talley, Grant Alexander, Renny Osuna and Marc Noble all had stolen bases. Cody Harkcom pitched one, Kevin Smith pitched two and two-thirds innings and Eli Elicerio pitched for three and a third. Smith got the win and Elicerio gained a save.
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E -------------------------------------------- Western Texas 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 7 0 New Mexico JC 7 3 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 - 17 16 0 --------------------------------------------
Game Stats
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E -------------------------------------------- Western Texas 4 1 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 - 11 12 0 New Mexico JC 6 1 2 4 5 0 0 0 0 - 18 13 5 --------------------------------------------
Game Stats
January 31 — Hobbs, NM. Game one was a 12-0 blow out, which wasn’t unexpected considering Mitch Goins was on the mound for the T-Birds. This season the 11-1 Goins has a chance to become the winningest pitcher in the history of the Thunderbirds. Goins didn’t disappoint anyone though. In his first game of 2004, he threw only his second no-hitter with NMJC (his first was against UTPB). This comes as no surprise to anyone because he can crank his fastball up to 94 mph and has good location with his curveball and change-up. “It felt good to do that,” said Goins smiling.
The second game was a 5-5 squeaker until the eighth. “Coach Birmingham guessed that the next pitch was going to be a curve ball, and sure enough, the pitcher threw me a hanging curve. I was just hoping to get a hit and have someone to drive me in,” said Josh Tally. What he did was hit a walk-off homer that clinched game two.
January 30 — Hobbs, NM. The first inning of the first game against University of Texas Permian Basin went rather quickly, as if both teams were evenly matched. But when number 6 Lee Ellis stepped-up to the plate with the bases full in the second, you could almost hear the ball cry out when the bat connected with it lethally. Ellis sent it flying out of the park at mach 2. “It felt pretty nice,” said Ellis. At that, the NMJC Thunderbirds spread their wings and took full control of the game.
Also attending this game were scouts from the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals. They were there eying three NMJC pitchers who break the 90 mph mark regularly, Johnny Lujan, Mark Averitt and Mitch Goins. Goins was drafted by the Kansas City Royals last year. “We’re here to look at those three arms,” said a scout who chooses to remain unnamed.
Despite these three pitchers ability to throw into the 90’s, “They didn’t throw their breaking pitches or change speeds for strikes,” said Coach Ray Birmingham. Even though NMJC won the first game 30-0 and the second one 30-1, Birmingham was only somewhat happy with NMJC’s slugfest. “We’ve got good pitchers potentially; they’ve just got to throw more strikes.”
Johnny Lujan pitched four scoreless innings of ball in game one to get the win, and Josh Giles won game two.
November 10 — Hobbs, NM. “Baseball is a profession just
like an auto-mechanic or carpenter. Many people today are still archaic about
it, but you make money,” adamantly stated Ray Birmingham, Professor of
Physical Education/Baseball Coach.
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