Game Recap: Baseball | | Nicolle Holcomb
- FORTH SMITH, Ark. – The Eastern New Mexico baseball team traveled to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith for the first two games in a three-game series. The Greyhounds fell 9-7 in the first contest and 7-3 in the second game.
GAME ONE: UAFS 9, ENMU 7
The Lions took a slim 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth but Eastern responded in the next frame to take a 2-1 advantage after capitalizing on several UAFS errors.
In the bottom of the fifth innings, UAFS regained the lead after four runs crossed the plate.
The Hounds continued to battle and saw Kian Johnston cut the deficit to 5-3 on a solo homer in the top of the sixth. However, the Lions scored two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to stretch their advantage back out to 9-3.
Eastern attempted a late rally, tallying two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth, but it fell just short as UAFS secured the close 9-7 victory.
Offensively, the Hounds were led by Johnston who finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Jude Perea also notched two hits in the contest, while Trevor Moses paced the team in RBI with two.
Josh Lewis earned the start for Eastern and was also credited with the loss. In five innings of work, he had four strikeouts while allowing six hits, three walks, and five runs, two of which were earned runs. Cooper Hamilton and James Puga also saw time on the mound.
GAME TWO: UAFS 7, ENMU 3
UAFS opened up the scoring again in the second contest with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Brooks Sunny notched an RBI double, while C Van Koote followed up with an RBI single.
The Hounds got the bats going in the top of the sixth innings to gain the 3-2 lead. Moses started things out with a single through the left side. Nicholas Tamez, Camden Matthews, and Jack Thompson all had RBI singles to give Eastern the advantage.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Lions got one run across home plate to tie the game up at 3-3.
UAFS continued to find success at the plate as they tallied four runs on four hits in the bottom of the eighth for a 7-3 lead. The Lions then held off the Eastern offense in the top of the ninth to secure the win.
Jack Thompson finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI. Moses, Cole Luedeking, and C. Matthews all ended 2-for-4 at the plate.
James Romero pitched the first five innings for the Hounds and had one strikeout while allowing two runs on three hits. Stephen Rausa replaced Romero briefly before Alex Kuhn came in to finish out the game. Kuhn was credited with the loss after giving up five hits and four runs, two of which were earned.
Eastern and UAFS meet again tomorrow (3/20) for a single Lone Star Conference contest at 12 p.m.
