The Northeast Texas Community College (NTCC) Eagles baseball team hosted a nine-game tournament this weekend with four teams from Texas, Kansas and Louisiana battling it out over three days. The highlight of the weekend for the Eagles was Sunday night when freshman pitcher Tim Winders led NTCC to a convincing 11-3 victory against the Bossier Parish Community College Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers jumped on the board first with one run in the second inning, but the Eagles took a commanding lead in the third, scoring seven runs. The Cavaliers held the Eagles' bats at bay for the next four innings until the bottom of the seventh, when the Eagles put up an additional three runs and one more in the eighth to win the game by eight.
The Eagles lost their games against Colby Community College on Sunday, and Navarro and Howard colleges on Friday. Despite their losses, Head Baseball Coach Josh Stewart said that the team gained ?valuable experience? during the tournament that would help prepare them for the upcoming conference games.
The tournament kicked off Friday afternoon at 1 p.m with the Eagles squaring off against Navarro. The teams held each scoreless until Mason Mantle hit a homerun in the fifth. The Eagles gave up one run in the seventh and the game was lost in extra innings with Navarro winning a thriller in the tenth by the score of 2-1.
The Eagles took the field for a nightcap against Howard, where they lost 7-4 in a tough battle against one of the top ranked teams from the Western Division.
The Eagles kicked off Sunday's schedule with a 1 p.m. game against Colby, losing 4-0. The Eagles took the field for the final game of the series, earning their victory against the Louisiana team during the final nightcap of the tournament.† Sophomore Pitcher Keaton Forrest said that, although the team lost three of their four games, every game was a chance for them to refine and hone their skills as a team.
?Once we get the experience working together, we?ll be ready for conference play. We are going to have Paris? number next Thursday? Keaton said.
The Eagles will be in action again next with a four-game series against Hutchinson Community College at NTCC. First pitch will be thrown at 6 p.m. on Friday Feb. 21, followed by a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and finishing with a noon game on Sunday. Conference play begins at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday Feb. 27 at Paris.
Follow the Eagles baseball on Twitter @NTCC_Baseball and visit www.ntcceagles.com for schedules, rosters, and more.
By: Christopher Hamilton, NTCC Eagle staff
February 20, 2014
