Coyotes cruise in first round of regional tourney

The Weatherford College Coyotes proved the worth of their No. 1 seed, dispatching New Mexico Military Institute 9-1 in eight innings to open the NJCAA Region V tournament Friday in Waco. 

The Coyotes quickly got on the board, with Trace Mazon singling past the glove of the shortstop to bat in Kasen Wells with two outs in the bottom of the first. It was the 62nd RBI of the season for the Aledo native. 

NMMI tied it in the next frame, but Weatherford College took the lead back in the bottom of the second, courtesy of an RBI single from Preston Newberry to score Mikey Luevano. 

The Coyotes found themselves in a bit of a pickle in the third with the bases loaded, but starter Robert Fortenberry got out of the jam, forcing a liner up the middle for an easy third out at second. 

Weatherford College added two more runs in the bottom of the frame, courtesy of a blast from Louka Daoust over the left field wall, scoring Mazon. It was the sophomore's fifth homer of the season, giving the Coyotes a 4-1 lead heading into the fourth. 

Fortenberry remained steady on the mound, with a key strikeout — his eighth of the afternoon — and two pop flies, leaving Bronco runners stranded on base. 

WC added a little insurance in the bottom of the fifth that began with some Dayton Tockey hustle, stretching a routine double into a triple with his legs. Daoust followed with an RBI single for a 5-1 advantage, but a diving catch in centerfield got NMMI out of trouble, doubling up a Coyote baserunner on first. 

WC continued to chip away, adding two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Uriah Walters kicked things off by tagging and scoring on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Mazon to rightfield. 

Moments later, Daoust hit a bullet up the middle to get on base, making his way to third courtesy of two wild pitches. It set the stage for Luevano, who swung away on his 3-0 pitch for an RBI single, and the Coyotes led 7-1 after seven. 

Evan Brant made quick work of the Bronco batters, setting up WC's final hurrah. 

Kanon Sundgren laid down a beauty of a bunt, catching the NMMI third baseman on his heels and outrunning the throw to first to get on with one out. 

Wells hit a well-placed liner that split the centerfielder and leftfielder and rolled all the way to the wall for an RBI triple, marking the Coyotes' 11th hit of the contest. 

Walters hit a bullet past shortstop, driving in the game winner on the right-run rule. 

The Coyotes face Grayson College, who defeated New Mexico Junior College 9-2 Friday morning, on Saturday at 4 p.m.