MIDLAND Odessa High’s first-year head coach Jerod Couch is still learning about his baseball team just eight days into the 2023 season.
He learned Saturday that the Bronchos have the ability to respond when challenged.
Odessa High took a lead, watched Plainview High tie the game and then the Bronchos broke things open for a 9-3 victory in a Tournament of Champions contest at Christensen Stadium.
Mikahel DeLeon was 2 for 3 with a double, triple, three RBIs and two runs scored to lead Odessa High (6-2-1).
Zorian Del Real, Braunson Lowe and Jayven Gonzales also had two hits in the victory.
Gonzales and Emmanuel Ramos each added two RBIs to the mix.
Marcos Castro-Gutierrez started and pitched six innings, allowing just three hits, to pick up the victory.
“Marcos did a great job,” Couch said. “He did exactly what we asked of him and threw the ball well; this is a chance for us to stretch the pitchers out a little bit, while still paying attention to the pitch counts.
“It was nice to see them respond when the game got tied up.”
The Bronchos are 3-0 in the tournament and had an afternoon game against Weatherford High on Friday afternoon that was not finished at press time.
Odessa High, after a slow start by both teams, found the scoreboard first with three runs in the top of the fourth inning.
With one out, DeLeon worked a walk from Bulldogs’ starter Talon Ballesteros and then stole second.
He moved to third when Richard Alvarez reached on an error, then scored on Zayne Minjarez’s bloop single to shallow center field.
Alvarez and Minjarez scored on a Gonzales single to center to put the Bronchos up 3-0.
The lead didn’t last the inning.
Ballesteros started the Bulldogs’ rally with a one-out single to left field.
Evan Rushing grounded into a fielder’s choice, with Ballesteros beating a throw to second base.
Rushing was forced at second on a ground ball by Ian Sepeda, with the Bronchos heading off the field after Zepeda was called out at first to complete a double play.
After a quick chat, however, the umpires reversed the call at first, putting runners at first and third for Plainview.
An error allowed Ballesteros to score and a passed ball moved Zepeda and Isaiah Medina up 90 feet.
That was crucial as Carson Northcutt singled to right to drive both runners home to tie the game.
There was an immediate response by Odessa High.
Del Real and Sebastian Cabral worked back-to-back, one-out walks from Ballesteros and DeLeon capitalized with a triple off the center-field fence to drive both runs in and give the Bronchos a lead they would never surrender.
Odessa High will face Greenwood at 4 p.m. Saturday at Midland Legacy’s Ernie Johnson Field to close out the tournament.
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