Game Recap: Baseball | | Nicolle Holcomb
The Eastern New Mexico baseball team hosted Wayland Baptist University for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon. The Pioneers (22-19) handed the Hounds (6-23) two losses by scores of 12-7 and 7-3.
GAME ONE: WBU 12, ENMU 7
Eastern jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Camden Matthews started the frame with a walk and then advanced to second on a well-placed bunt from his brother Braeton Matthews. C. Matthews rounded home on a double from Rio Granger, while B. Matthews crossed the plate on a Nicholas Tamez ground out.
The Greyhounds continued to add to their advantage with five runs in the second inning, highlighted by RBI singles from Cole Luedeking and Tamez.
Wayland Baptist got the offense going in the top of the third with six runs. Luis Vargas was responsible for three of those runs with a home run to left field.
In the fourth and fifth innings, the Pioneers tacked on three more runs in each frame to take a 12-7 lead. Wayland Baptist shut down the Hounds the rest of the way to secure the victory.
Offensively, the Greyhounds saw seven runs from seven different student-athletes throughout the contest.
On the mound, Alex Kuhn got the start and struck out two batters in two innings of work. Shaun Watson came in next and was credited with the loss. Colson Faircloth finished out the game for Eastern.
GAME TWO: WBU 7, ENMU 3
The Hounds got on the board first in the bottom of the third inning. Luedeking drove in two runs on single to left field, while C. Matthews scored on a wild pitch to give Eastern the 3-0 advantage.
Wayland Baptist battled late in the game, tallying one run in the top of the fifth to make it a 3-1 game. The Pioneers then saw a solo homer from Vargas and a run on a bunt in the sixth inning to tie the contest, 3-3.
In the top of the seventh, Wayland Baptist managed to score four runs on two hits and two errors to take a 7-3 lead. The Pioneers kept the Hounds from getting the bats going in the bottom of the frame to earn the doubleheader sweep.
B. Matthews, Luedeking, and Nick Schifftner all had one hit for Eastern. C. Matthews had a stolen base in the contest.
On the hill, Stephen Rausa got the start and had seven strikeouts in five innings of work. Fernando Burgos pitched one inning, while Jason Vasil finished out the game and was credited with the loss.
Eastern is back in action this weekend for a three-game Lone Star Conference series at Angelo State University. The first game starts on Friday (4/16) at 5:30 p.m.
