On Sunday afternoon New Mexico Military opened the season with a 9-2 win over Northeastern Junior College in game one of the doubleheader at the NMMI Ballpark. In game two, Northeastern Junior College turned the script and tied the series 1-1 with a 13-12 win in game two. With the split, both squads open the season 1-1.

GAME 1

After back-to-back strikeouts on the mound by starting pitcher Hyunwook Lee, Northeastern JC responded with a single, then a double by Michael Clark to give the visitors a quick 1-0 lead. Following a scoreless first and second inning, the Broncos scored a trio of runs in the bottom of the third.

First, Misael Maldonaldo-Baez reached base on a walk before scoring the first run of the season for NMMI with the help of an RBI triple by Damwoo Kim to tie the game at 1-1. Kim would cross home plate in the next at-bat with a groundout to give the Broncos their first lead of the 2026 season. Eliseo Ramirez reached base with a single before scoring the third run off an RBI single by Alec Guevara to take a 3-1 lead into the fourth.

In the home half of the fourth inning Josian Soto opened the frame with a single to get started. After two flyouts and a walk the Bronco batters were hit by a pitch in back-to-back at-bats, helping NMMI score their fourth run of the day. In the next at-bat Eliseo Ramirez recorded an RBI double to give the Broncos a 6-1 after four innings of play.

In the top of the fifth inning, Northeastern JC scored with the help of an error by Javier Yepiz and an RBI double Tanner Peerey to make it a 6-2 ball game. However, the Broncos responded with another trio of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Josian Soto and Cole Dunkel reached base on walks before Damwoo Kim sent one into orbit for his first homer of the season to put NMMI ahead 9-2. The final two innings were scoreless as the Broncos earned their first win of the season in the opening game.

On the mound, Hyunwook Lee pitched for 4.0 and recorded nine strikeouts while allowing just one earned run. In relief, Ryan Alsup allowed two hits in three innings of work while recording five strikeouts.

GAME 2

With momentum for the first game, the Broncos opened game two with a one-run inning in the first. Eliseo Ramirez recorded his first triple of the season before Wonjae Cho recorded an RBI single to help Ramirez cross home plate to take a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the second inning Sangwoon Jeon was walked in his first at-bat of the year. In the next at bat, Kylian Bamberger reached base after being hit by a pitch. With two on and two out, Joek Rivera Colon tallied his first homer of the season, a three-RBI blast to put the Broncos ahead by four runs. Eliseo Ramirez continued his great start with another single. In the next two pitches, Wonjae Cho smacked a double to record another RBI and put NMMI ahead 5-0 after two innings.

However, the visitors would respond with a trio of runs in the third before blowing the lead open after a seven-run fifth inning as Northeastern JC enjoyed a 10-5 advantage. In the top of the seventh inning, the Plainsmen were able to score another trio of runs to hold a 13-5 lead heading into the final three outs.

In the home half of the final inning the Broncos made things interesting. After a hit-by-pitch and walk landed two runners on base, Wonjae Cho recorded a two-RBI single to make it a 13-7 ballgame. With the help of another hit-by-pitch, and an RBI single by Sangwoon the Broncos trailed 13-8. In his only hit in game two, Damwoo Kim recorded an RBI single to cut into the deficit. With two runners on, Kylian Bamberger recorded his first homer of the year, a three-RBI shot, to make it a 13-12 ballgame. The comeback fell short as Joek Rivera grounded out to tie the series a 1-1.

Head Coach Chris Cook on the pair of games, "We pitched really well in game one, Damwoo Kim rarely missed the barrel today, he had a great day offensively," Cook said. "We were just a little too passive on fastballs but it's our first two games and I wasn't expecting us to be sharp today because we haven't had much practice … but honestly was pleased with how we played," Cook said. "Defensively, there are a couple of minor things to clean up but that will happen with every game," Cook said.

UP NEXT

The Broncos return to action Monday, February 2 as they close out the series against Northeastern Junior College with two seven inning games, starting at noon.