Late surge lifts Rio Grande baseball over East Mountain

ALBUQUERQUE — Luis Guillen went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and drove in four runs to power the Rio Grande Ravens past the East Mountain Timberwolves 7-4 on Saturday.

Trailing 4-3 entering the bottom of the fifth, Rio Grande (3-2) pushed across the tying run before breaking the game open with a three-run surge in the sixth inning to hand East Mountain (5-1) its first loss of the season.

The Timberwolves initially bounced back from a 3-1 first-inning deficit by chipping away at the Ravens’ lead. East Mountain scored a run in the second inning and added a pair in the third to take a 4-3 advantage.

Charlie Birdwell paced East Mountain offensively, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of doubles. Luke Stoerner also hit a double and drove in two runs, while leadoff hitter R. Moorhead finished 2-for-3 with two stolen bases.

However, Rio Grande’s bullpen completely shut the door on the Timberwolves’ lineup over the final frames. Lorenzo Martinez earned the win on the mound, tossing a hitless inning of relief with two strikeouts. Logan Reed then pitched a flawless final inning, striking out two batters to secure the save.

David Gonzalez provided crucial run support for the Ravens with a two-run hit, while Nivek Corona went 2-for-3 and scored a run to help fuel the comeback.

Cole Darnell was tagged with the loss for East Mountain, yielding four earned runs over two innings of relief. Stoerner started for the Timberwolves and gave up three runs on five hits over four innings.