Coronado baseball team plays spoiler in road win at Socorro
The Coronado baseball program is certainly one to keep an eye on in the next couple of years.
On Tuesday, the Thunderbirds gave a glimpse of the future with a 4-0 win at Socorro, ending the Bulldogs' five-game win streak and any hopes of making the playoffs. Socorro is 8-7 in District 1-6A, Coronado is 6-9 with one game remaining.
The Thunderbirds have four seniors on the team, two of which start.
How the T-Birds did it
Junior pitcher Jaxon Baptist delivered six strong innings, scattered six hits and had six strikeouts. He left the game in the seventh after giving up two singles, but reliever Walt Mann calmly took over and retired the final three batters to secure the victory. Baptist went 2-0 against Socorro this season.
On offense, Nico Olea belted two solo homers, Jackie Gross drove in a run and Ryan Salcedo also had an RBI. Olea has had two games this season with multiple homers.
What the winning coach said
"Jaxon had a great outing," Coronado coach Juan Orozco said. "He made some big pitches at key times. Our team has come a long way. The young players really worked to get better."
What the winning players said
"The future is bright for this program," said Olea, a senior who will play at Pima Community College next year. "That was as good as I've seen Jaxon pitch. We had a good team effort. We started slow this season, but you could see the confidence grow and the hard work pay off."
Added Baptist: "Having faced Socorro before helped me, I had a good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Just a big win for us against a good team. I believe we have a bright future."
More: HS School Scores El Paso high school sports scoreboard April 22-27
Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Baptist, Olea lead way for Thunderbirds in win at Socorro
