Yellow roses are all the rage in Texas.

But Matt Speake is more likely to receive black ones from his home state, if any at all, after Thursday.

On one day’s rest, the Tyler native capped New Mexico Junior College’s thrilling 10-9 victory, eliminating the Lone Star state’s beloved San Jacinto (Texas) College-North, by earning the save in front of a raucous crowd of 9,293 at the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series.

“Imagine that,” Thunderbirds coach Ray Birmingham said.

“A Texas boy beats Texas. New Mexico is playing in the national championship for the second time in three years.”

Speake will pitch the national championship game for the Thunderbirds at 6:30 tonight against the winner of this afternoon’s game between Chipola (Fla.) College and Spartanburg (S.C.) Methodist College. That game begins at 2 p.m. at Suplizio Field.

San Jac’s Taylor Hammack led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk and Kyle Henson represented the winning run at first base after New Mexico’s Adalberto Santos mishandled his grounder to second.

After fanning Trey Sperring on four pitches, Speake blew an 89 mph fastball past pinch-hitter Quentin Luquette, who hit a clutch three-run home run Tuesday in his only previous World Series at-bat against Chipola (Fla.) College, for the second out.

Speake then overpowered Tanner Hines on three pitches, hitting 90 mph on a fastball for the first time in the inning to strike out the side.

Just two days removed from pitching 51⁄3 innings in a victorious start against Cowley County (Kan.) Community College in an elimination game, Speake saved New Mexico again.

Nobody on the top-ranked Thunderbirds appreciated knocking out the national powerhouse, which owns five JUCO titles, more than Speake, who grew up a few hundred miles north of San Jac’s campus in Houston.

“It’s just the biggest adrenaline rush you ever have, coming into close a game like this. A 10-9 ballgame, I mean, you’re playing San Jac and it’s unbelievable to rally and win a ballgame like that,” Speake said of the Thunderbirds’ comeback from a 7-1 deficit in the matchup many predicted to be the national title game before the tournament.

“They are an unbelievable team with an unbelievable history and an unbelievable program. That’s easily the biggest game of my life.”

In only 18 pitches, a season to forget turned into a memory for a lifetime.

“I have had a tough year,” the Texas A&M University signee said.

“It’s not the year I thought I would have, that’s for sure.”

Speake developed into New Mexico’s No. 2 starter as a freshman behind two-time NJCAA player of the year Brian Flores, now the ace of the staff at Arizona State University.

He went 9-1 with a 2.00 ERA last spring, allowing 68 hits, 22 walks and striking out 87 in 751⁄3 innings. San Francisco thought enough of the 6-foot right-hander to draft him in the 45th round last June.

The self-described “fastball-slider pitcher” lost control of his slider midway through this season, causing his regular-season numbers (10-2, 3.36 ERA, 69 hits, 25 walks, 75 Ks) to dip.

“He didn’t have his slider and all of a sudden he became a very average pitcher,” New Mexico pitching coach Cory Hall said.

“The last month and a half we have done everything as a staff trying to tinker and get between his ears to find that thing.

“To be honest with you, I don’t think it’s anything the coaches have done. I don’t think it’s anything more than the kid’s got a lot of gall and he’s a winner. He’s willed himself to win during regionals, districts and his start (Tuesday).”

Getting your number called against a team you grew up idolizing sure didn’t hurt, Speake said.

“If you just pitch OK all year and pitch well here, it’s still unbelievable,” he said.

“I have finally got my breaking ball where I want it again and it’s about time, because I’ve struggled with it all season.”

Hall said there is a good chance Speake could be called again to pitch in today’s national championship game.

“I will be ready,” Speake said.

“We got the toughest side of the bracket, could have the longest road. It was a tough road. There’s no slouch team here.

“We’ve been coming out to win games out here since we lost to Western Nevada and that’s what we are going to do.”

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Joe Spencer can be reached via e-mail at jspencer@gjds.com.