Coyotes win pitcher’s duel in super regional opener

A three-run home run by Manny Salas gave No. 3 Weatherford College all the offense it needed to win their super regional opener on Thursday afternoon, beating New Mexico Junior College 3-1 in Odessa.  

The game featured two of the top pitchers in the nation: New Mexico's Brayan Orrantia, who ranks second in NJCAA Division I in wins (12), against Weatherford's Evan Brandt, who leads the nation in W's with 14.  

Orrantia kept WC off the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth, when J.C. Davis walked and Trace Mazon was hit by a pitch. Salas then homered on a fly ball to left field, flipping the score from a 1-0 New Mexico lead to a 3-1 Weatherford advantage.    

Brandt pitched six innings and gave up just one run, four hits and no walks while striking out three. Noah Bentley and Rodney Pena finished the final three innings with no runs.  

WC improved to 47-11 overall. New Mexico dropped to 39-19. 

The Coyotes will play on Friday at 2 p.m. against the winner of Thursday's game between Odessa College and No. 17 McLennan Community College. The Southwest District Championship runs through the weekend at Odessa College's Wrangler Field. 

The winner of the four-team super regional will advance to the NJCAA Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.  All games are live-streamed on www.tsbnsports.com.