Game Recap: Baseball |  | Cameron Brennan

Runs in the first and seventh inning powered Eastern New Mexico baseball to a 11-6 victory over UT Tyler, on Friday afternoon at Irwin Field. ENMU improve to 6-11 on the season and 5-10 in LSC action. The Patriots slip to 10-11 overall, with the same record in conference play.

Eastern got on the board in the first inning to give itself an early cushion. With a runner on first and two outs, the Greyhounds began a hit parade. Nick Schifftner singled to put a runner in scoring position, then Spencer Roach brought home the games first run with a single to center field, 1-0 ENMU. Next, Sammy Williamson joined with an RBI single pushing the score to 2-0, only for Andres Quintana to also register an RBI single, 3-0 ENMU. Then, Kian Johnston capped off the inning with a two-run double into the left center gap taking a 5-0 advantage in the 1st inning. In total, ENMU tallied five consecutive hits in the inning, and six hits overall to start the game.

However, the home team responded over the following three innings with six runs to hold a 6-5 lead after three full innings. The Hounds bats struggled in that time, failing to pick up a base knock between the 2nd and 6th inning. Noah De La Riva delivered on the mound stopping any more runs after the third inning. Eastern’s bats changed the score in the 7th frame for the Greyhounds.

After a single from Nyles Duren and Camden Matthews reaching on an error, the Hounds base runners took advantage of a wild pitch to tie the game at 6-6. Duren was sent home on the wild pitch and put C. Matthews on third as the go ahead run. Two batters later, Schifftner delivered a sacrifice fly to the center field as the Hounds jumped into the lead 7-6. Roach followed with two outs and a runner on base with a towering homerun to left center, pushing the Hounds lead to 9-6.

The Greyhounds added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth as Quintana put a ball in play with runners on the corners. An arid throw from UTT allowed both runners to score, putting ENMU ahead 11-6 heading into final half inning. Dalton Thatcher concluded the game on the mound, as Eastern took game one of the series 11-6 over UTT.

NOTABLE STATS

  • ENMU collected 11 hits on the afternoon with 11 runs, and eight RBI’s.
  • Roach led the Greyhound hitters, going 3-4 at the dish with three RBI’s a homerun and a walk. Williamson and Johnston finished with two hits each, with Johnston providing two RBI’s.
  • De La Riva picks up the win after throwing 8.0 innings with three strikeouts and allowing six runs (five earned runs). Thatcher threw one scoreless innings to end the game facing four batters.
  • Easton Malin is dealt the loss after giving up four runs (all unearned) in 4.2 IP allowing two hits.

FROM THE SOURCE

“Really proud of how we showed up offensively today to set the tone early against their starter who was LSC pitcher of the week last week,” said Head Baseball Coach Riley Price. “We stuck with our game plan going into this game and executed it pretty well. Timely hits and quality at bats from multiple guys in our lineup is what we are always pushing and to just get it to the next guy,” said Price. “Spencer (Roach) really had a good day at the plate today. Defensively we did not show up locked in and allowed them to get back into the game early by making simple routine mistakes, which cannot happen moving forward,” said Price. “Noah (De La Riva) gave us an extremely mature start on the mound today and could have easily let our defensive errors rattle him. I challenged him to stay composed and keep attacking hitters and that’s exactly what the true freshman did, and couldn’t be prouder of him,” said Price. “Overall, great win and I’m looking forward to a hard-fought doubleheader tomorrow”.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

  • 11 runs are the most scored by the Hounds against the Patriots in program history. ENMU have now won the last two meetings between the two programs.
  • Roach tied a career best three hits during the game and career high three RBI’s during the game.
  • De La Riva had a career outing going eight strong innings in his first career win.
  • Eastern’s defense turned three double plays during the game, landing in second for a single game high in program history.
  • The Greyhounds contend against the Patriots in a doubleheader tomorrow, with game one scheduled for 12:05 pm, and game two scheduled for 3:05 pm.