PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico baseball team bounced back with an 11-6 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville before falling in the second game 17-1 on Saturday afternoon at Greyhound Field.
In the first game of the non-conference doubleheader, the Javelinas were able to get on the board first on a two RBI single by Pablo Hernandez off of Greyhounds starter Joel Torres to claim the early 2-0 edge.
The Hounds were able to bounce back in the bottom half of the frame to draw the game back even. Eastern notched its first score when it pulled off a double steal, as Eurick Perez stole second and Joseph Zubia snuck into home as the Javelinas tried to nab Perez at second to make it a one-run game.
On the Hounds next at-bat, designated hitter Luidinson Hidalgo knocked in Perez with a single that slipped through the left side to tie the game at two.
The Javelinas regained their lead in the top of the second, scoring three unearned runs to set the score at 5-2.
However, Eastern stayed hot from the plate in bottom of the second as well. Malcolm Boehm led off the inning by slapping a triple down the right field line and after Bryan Waltemath reached on a walk, Joel Paulino smashed an RBI double to right center to close the gap to 5-3 with runners in scoring position and nobody out.
In his first at-bat in the nine hole, senior outfielder Malcolm Smith delivered with a two RBI single to center, scoring Waltemath and Paulino to draw the game even at five. Two batters later, Smith came around to score on a TAMUK error to give Eastern its first lead of the ballgame at 6-5.
As Torres was able to lock down over the next few innings to keep the Javelinas from rallying, the Hounds were able to add some insurance in the fourth. After loading the bases with a Smith single and a pair of walks by Paul Tapia and Joseph Zubia, Perez was also able to draw a walk to score Smith from third and extending the ENMU edge to 7-5.
In the fifth inning, the Hounds were able to load the bases once again, but this time adding some more insurance when Nicholas Ankerman crushed a two RBI double to left that just barely missed clearing the fence, scoring Paulino and Waltemath to extend the lead to 9-5. On the next at-bat, Tapia was able to plate one more on a single to left, bringing Smith around to give Eastern a five-run advantage.
The Javelinas managed to push a run across in the top of the sixth after TAMUK’s Kohl Ullman reached with a double on a popup that fell just out of the reach of three Hounds down the right field line and later came around to score on a sacrifice fly to right to close the gap to 10-6.
However, Eastern responded in the sixth as well, as Perez crossed home plate after hitting a triple to the right center field gap and scoring two batters later on Boehm’s sac fly to center to extend the Eastern advantage back to five at 11-6.
The Hounds recorded their 11 runs on 10 hits and committed three errors while the Javelinas’ six came on six hits along with five errors.
Three Hounds tallied multiple hits in the opening game. Smith went 2-for-3 with three runs and a pair of RBIs, Paulino slashed 2-for-3 with a pair of runs and an RBI, and Tapia finished 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Torres put together a strong showing in his start, improving to 2-2 on the season after throwing six innings and giving up six runs, only three earned on six hits, three walks, and six strikeouts. Tyler Cobb also pitched a scoreless seventh, giving up just a walk to go with a strikeout.
The Javelinas were able to stifle the red hot Hounds bats in the second game of the doubleheader as Eastern’s only run came off an Ankerman sacrifice fly in the third inning as Kingsville pulled out the 17-1 win.
Kingsville got its 17 runs off 12 hits and committed just one error while the Hounds notched their run off five hits with five errors.
The Greyhounds will seek a win tomorrow to split the series with the Javelinas, as the St. Patrick’s Day Green Out game is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
