T-Bird (BB) Faces Familiar Opponents in Odessa at the Southwest District Championship

The T-Birds advanced to the second round of the Region V Tournament to play NJCAA No. 3 Weatherford College Thursday, May 15 at 11 a.m. CDT in Odessa, Texas.

The four-team Region V Tournament consists of Odessa College, Weatherford College, NMJC, and McLennan CC. 

Odessa College will play McLennan CC following Game 1 at 2 p.m. CDT.

NMJC is familiar with all four teams this week and has an 0-2 record against Weatherford, an 0-3 record against McLennan, and a 2-3 record against Odessa.

The T-Birds played Weatherford College twice at home Feb. 14-15 and fell 6-2 and 23-7 in Game 2. NMJC traveled to McLennan Feb. 28- March 1 and played in a 3-game set. In Waco, they were no-hit 2-0 in the first game, fell 10-6 in Game 2, and dropped Game 3 by a score of 4-2.

NMJC won a non-conference game against Odessa at Wrangler Ballpark 10-2 on Feb. 24. They played a 4-game series to cap off the regular season May 1-2 falling 11-5 and 9-1 in Odessa. NMJC split the Hobbs doubleheader winning 8-2 and then losing Game 4 by a score of 11-8.

The double-elimination tournament will continue on Friday, May 16 with the loser's bracket game at 11 a.m. CDT and the winner's bracket game at 2 p.m. CDT. Saturday starts with the remaining two teams in the loser's bracket facing each other at 11 a.m. CDT for a chance to play in the championship at 2 p.m. CDT.

The if necessary game on Sunday would happen if the remaining undefeated team lost to the winner of the loser's bracket. The Sunday championship start time is TBA. Fans can find the bracket here.

The T-Birds are led offensively by DH Julius Ramirez who is second in JUCO with 99 RBIs and tied for third in homers with 24. On the mound, starting pitcher Brayan Orrantia has been dominant. The sophomore from Los Mochis, SI, Mexico is No. 2 in the country with 12 wins behind Game 1's likely starter Evan Brandt of Weatherford College who has 13 wins on the year. Orrantia has pitched 78.2 innings and struck out 78 with a 3.09 ERA. 

The winner this week will be crowned the Region V Champs and Southwest District Champions as they will represent Region V at the 2025 NJCAA DI College Baseball World Series. The 10-team tournament runs May 24-31 at Sam Suplizio Field in Grand Junction, Colo.

Fans can watch Thursday morning's game in Odessa, Texas on TSBN sports by clicking here.

The Thunderbirds face No. 3 Weatherford College Thursday, May 15 at 11 a.m. CDT in Odessa, Texas at Wrangler Ballpark.