It was a great weekend of baseball for the Trinidad State Trojans as they swept their rivals from Lamar over a four-game set by scores of 8-7, 7-6, 6-3, and 9-3. The first two games of the series took place in Trinidad on Sunday. The teams then moved to Lamar for the next two games on Monday.
The weather was beautiful for baseball at Central Park on Sunday afternoon. The Lopes did not waste any time jumping out to a lead in game one with a three-run first inning. A homerun from Lope first baseman Jeremy Hockmuth plated all three. Lamar would increase the lead to 7-0 before the Trojan offense would settle in. TSJC brought four around in the bottom of the third, started off by a two-out, two-RBI single from Jack Orozco. They would cut it to 7-6 in the fourth when a double from Andres Alvarez scored Cruz Nevarez and then Alvarez would score on a Damian Rodriguez single. The score would hold until the bottom of the seventh when Herman Alvarado drew a bases load walk to force in Alex Dominguez. Nevarez would then reach on an error forcing Simon Auger across as the winning run. Colin Pratt picked up his second win of the season in relief.
Game two resembled game one with the Lopes taking a lead and holding it until the Trojans final at-bat. TSJC trailed 6-4 in the seventh when Alvarez scored on a Daniel Jurney double to left. Trailing by one with two-down the Trojans loaded the bases. This time it was Phillip Underwood reaching on an error that allowed Jurney and Auger to come across for the tying and winning runs. Donavin Buck would get the win in relief striking out a pair of Lopes in the seventh.
The first game on Monday was a battle that would not end until the 11th inning. Lamar scored first, holding a 1-0 lead into the seventh. The Trojans would then plate three in the top of the seventh on a three-run homerun from Nevarez. The Lopes tied it up in the bottom of the inning forcing extra baseball. Both teams had runners on for the next four innings, but it was another three-run homerun, this time off the bat of Damian Rodriguez, that would put the Trojans up to stay. Jurney recorded his third win of the season, striking out four over a couple innings of work.
The final game of the series had the least amount of drama, as the Trojans claimed an early lead and went the distance for a 9-3 win. Dominguez and Nevarez each went yard for the Trojans and Rodriguez went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Starter James Smith picked up the win on the hill, striking out six in five innings of work.
The snow up north has cancelled this weekend's games, which were scheduled at Sterling, Colorado. The Trojans (17-8, 6-1) will next face the Lopes again, a sixth and final time this regular season, when they host Lamar on Wednesday, March 30 for a nine-inning game starting at 1 p.m. at Central Park.