Things looked bleak for the New Mexico Junior College baseball team in the top of the first inning Wednesday.

The Thunderbirds were playing Western Nevada Community College for the fourth time this season — with the most on the line.

The winner would become one of four surviving teams in the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series. The loser would head home.

“God gave us a chopper on the mound,” New Mexico coach Ray Birmingham said.

That chopper to the mound started the T-Birds on a roll as they took an 11-1, five-inning victory over the Wildcats.

Western Nevada had relegated New Mexico to the elimination bracket with an 8-4 victory on Monday.

Thunderbirds starting pitcher Lukas Thomason pitched himself into a major jam in the top of the first, walking the first three batters he faced.

“We were trying to get him to the third or fourth (inning),” Birmingham said.

After the three walks, “I said to hell with it,” Birmingham said.

He brought in J.R. Robinson, who put on a textbook example of long relief.

Robinson induced a comebacker to the mound. On instinct after catching it, he wheeled around and looked at second base, despite the bases being loaded.

“Then everybody was yelling,” Robinson said. He turned around and threw it to home for the force-out. Catcher Luis Cruz then fired to first for the double play.

Robinson struck out the next batter, Brad Carlsen, to retire the side with no damage done.

“That was a big relief,” Robinson said— not only to him but to Thomason.

“He’s a strikeout-walk kind of guy,” Robinson said of Thomason, who was making just his fifth appearance of the season.

New Mexico scored three times in the bottom of the first on Brian Cavazos-Galvez’s RBI single to center, Cruz’s run-scoring single and on a wild pitch.

As it turned out, that was all the runs the Thunderbirds needed, although they added two in the second and three in the third.

Leading 8-1 in the fifth, Coty Wilson blasted a two-run home run to right field.

Christian Figueroa singled to right, Everett Evans moved him to third on a base hit up the middle and, with one out, Pedro Gomez hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Figueroa as New Mexico won by the 10-run rule.

The victory was the Thunderbirds’ second in as many days in an elimination game. They are, to live by the old clich&233;, playing it one game at a time.

“You can’t look ahead ’cause you don’t know who you’re going to play,” Robinson said.

Birmingham said his team is ready for the long haul.

“If you’re gonna beat us you’d better bring a lunch and everything,” he said. “We’ll be here all night.”

The good news for the Thunderbirds is, if they win tonight, they get Friday off, giving Birmingham a chance to rest his beleagured pitching staff.

Robinson said he’s ready to go if called upon.

“I’m OK,” he said. “I’ll throw the next game if I have to.”

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Kent Mincer can be reached via e-mail at kmincer@gjds.com.