The Odessa College baseball team faced its biggest challenge since going up Midland College last month.
And while the Wranglers’ run of 16-straight conference victories came to an end last weekend, Odessa College still managed a split in its road series against a tough El Paso Community College team.
“El Paso is extremely talented,” Odessa College head coach David Wood said. “Their offense has been doing some really good things, have a couple high-level commits. They’re pitching staff was very impressive too. So coming out there and, and that’s a tough environment to play down there. I mean, and you know, so coming out with two wins, we are very happy with it. We always want to win a series on the road, but we still feel like we did what we were supposed to do.”
The Wranglers (28-11 overall, 20-4 in Western Junior College Athletic Conference) began last weekend’s series with a 7-2 loss before bouncing back with a 4-2 win on Friday. Odessa College lost 9-8 in game three before closing out with a 13-4 win for the split on Saturday.
Odessa College now sits in third place in the WJCAC standings while El Paso Community College (30-14, 12-12) is fifth.
The Wranglers know El Paso Community College was just one of a few challenging opponents they will face in the coming weeks as they get ready for the final stretch of the season.
In the coming weeks, Odessa College will face Howard College and New Mexico Junior College.
“We’ve been talking to our guys about the ebbs and flows of the schedule and who we’re playing and, and who we need to take care of,” Wood said. “They’ve done a really good job of staying consistent because we don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves just because we’re facing a, a better team. You want to just continue to do what we do, prepare in the right way. And they’ve done a great job of just keeping a level head.”
>> AMARILLO COLLEGE: Next for the Wranglers is a four-game home series against Amarillo College, beginning with a doubleheader at noon Thursday at Wrangler Ballpark.
Both teams will be back on the field for another doubleheader at noon Friday.
The Badgers are sixth in the WJCAC at 18-26, 11-13.
“It’s a huge series,” Wood said. “Amarillo College is another really talented ball club. Coach (Brandon) Raines is doing a good job with those guys and they’ve getting better and better each year. We’re at our home ballpark so it’s always nice to sleep in your own bed. This is a big weekend to keep pace with Midland and New Mexico Junior College and we’re starting to play better opponents too so it’s going to come down to who does what best.”
>> RECOGNITION: Last week, Odessa College pitcher Daniel Lopez was awarded the WJCAC Player of the Week after his performance against Frank Phillips College in which the freshman from El Paso threw 7.2 innings of perfect ball and finished with a no-hitter.
Lopez then followed it up by helping the Wranglers to a two-run victory Friday in his hometown.
Lopez, who pitched for a little over five innings in game two, gave up four hits and two runs but managed 14 strikeouts for his second victory of the season.
“Getting that national recognition is a big deal,” Wood said. “And then sometimes, you know, you don’t know what you’re going to get in that next outing because you’re coming off of such a high. But for him to stay composed, to go home and do that in front of the home crowd and go five-and-a-third with 14 strikeouts is a really good bounce back outing after having that no-hitter.”
For Lopez, who played at El Paso Socorro High School, last week was a fun homecoming for him.
“It was really good,” Lopez said. “I got to play in front of my family and my parents and everybody and they were really happy. So I was glad I got a show out to them again and have fun out there.”
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