Game Recap: Baseball | | Nicolle Holcomb
CANYON, TEXAS – The Eastern New Mexico baseball team traveled to #22 West Texas A&M University for a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon. The Greyhounds fell 13-3 in the first contest of the day and 17-2 in the second.
GAME ONE: WEST TEXAS A&M 13, EASTERN NEW MEXICO 3
The Greyhounds got the bats going early in the first inning. Daniel Hunt had a single to extend his hitting streak to four games. Nick Shifftner hit a two-out double deep to right center to send Hunt home and give the Hounds the 1-0 lead. Eastern’s Nicholas Tamez then hit a single to advance Shifftner before they both rounded home on a single from Andres Quintana.
West Texas A&M responded with two runs in the bottom of the first but Greyhound pitcher Jason Vasil was able to get out of a two-out bases loaded jam to keep the Buffaloes from gaining the advantage.
The Buffs cut Eastern’s lead to 3-2 in the second inning. WT tallied five runs in the third and two runs in the fourth to go up 9-3, highlighted by triples from Ryan Johnson in both innings.
WT extended the lead to 13-3 by the end of the fifth on a three-run homer from Eric Ortiz and an RBI double from Moos. The Buffs held off the Greyhound offense to secure the victory.
Vasil was credited with the loss for Eastern while Carter Brown earned the win for West Texas A&M.
At the plate, Tamez finished two-for three, while Quintana had a team-high two RBI. Schifftner and Jack Thompson each had a double for the Hounds.
GAME TWO: WEST TEXAS A&M 17, EASTERN NEW MEXICO 2
West Texas A&M jumped out to the early lead in the nightcap of Thursday’s doubleheader. The Buffaloes went ahead 5-0 in the bottom of the first after scoring several runs on errors and a two-RBI double from Kennedy Badgett.
The Buffs continued to add to their advantage by tallying runs in each of the next four innings with six in the second, one in the third, three in the fourth, and two in the fifth to make the score 17-0.
Eastern broke the shutout attempt in the top of the seventh by scoring two runs but it wasn’t enough as West Texas A&M took the 17-2 win.
Hunt led the way offensively for the Hounds as he went 1-for-2 at the plate with a double. Braeton Matthews recorded the lone Eastern RBI of the game on a single in the seventh inning.
Liam Sabiston shifted to 0-1 on the season with the loss on the mound. Mathieu Gauthier earned the win for West Texas A&M.
The third game of the series scheduled for Friday (2/12) has been postponed due to incoming inclement weather. Eastern New Mexico returns to the field for a three-game series at Cameron University starting with an 11 a.m. doubleheader on Feb. 26.
