Eastern New Mexico baseball struggled to find a rhythm at the plate as the Hounds dropped a pair of games to UT Tyler by scores of 6-0 and 3-1 Saturday evening.

UT Tyler jumped out to an early 3-0 lead at the end of the second before extending their lead with a two-run fifth and an insurance run in the sixth as it totaled seven hits in game one.

Starting pitcher Reagan MacDonald was two walks away from a perfect game as he tossed a seven-inning no-hitter while striking out ten in 22 batters faced. Second baseman Trevor Moses and catcher Mario Armendariz were the only Hounds to reach base as each was issued a base on balls.

Redshirt sophomore Ethan Coombes got the nod on the mound to begin game one as he pitched five innings and surrendered five runs, three earned on six hits, four walks and a pair of strikeouts.

The Patriots struck first again in the second game of the double-header with a run in the bottom of the third. The Green and Silver responded with a leadoff single up the middle from center fielder Malcolm Smith to start the fourth.

Worried about Smith’s speed at first base, the Patriot catcher slang an ill-advised throw down the line in an attempt to pickoff the speedy Greyhound. The throw got away from the first baseman and Smith capitalized on the error as he bolted around and slid safely into third.

Shortstop Daniel Hunt sent a single to right field which easily scored Smith on the play. With the score tied at 1-1, the Green and Silver threatened to take their first lead of the ball game as they loaded the bases with just one out in the inning unfortunately ENMU failed to push any more runs across.

The Patriots reclaimed the lead with a run at the bottom of the fourth and took a 3-1 lead after plating another in the fifth. The Hounds managed five hits in the contest while UTT tallied seven base knocks.

In the loss, junior starter Josh Lewis pitched five strong innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and three walks while fanning four. Junior reliever Liam Sabiston took over in the bottom of the sixth and allowed no runs and no hits with a walk and a strikeout. Sabiston has yet to relinquish a run in 4.2 innings pitched this season.

The High Plains squad will look to salvage the weekend with a win in tomorrow’s series final with first pitch scheduled for noon.