Saturday, April 11, 2015
PORTALES, N.M. — Splitting a doubleheader vs. West Texas A&M University Saturday, the Eastern New Mexico University baseball team had huge performances from the plate out of
Justin Paul (Jr., Papillion, Neb. / Highland Community College),
Daniel Ward (So., Cleveland, Ohio / Clovis Community College) and
Chris Sanders (Sr., Murrieta, Calif. / Palomar College).Paul recorded a team leading five hits combined on the day, while Ward and Sanders recorded four each. The three batters combined for nine RBIs on the day, with three, two and four, respectively.
"I got to give a lot of credit to Ward and those guys, especially Sandberg Jr. who had a great day, said ENMU head coach Dave Gomez. "Those are some guys that have been struggling but came out and had big days today."
The Greyhounds (12-23, 8-15 LSC) fell to the Buffs (25-14, 16-10 LSC) in game one of the double header 10-8, but came back and took game two 9-2, the largest margin of victory of the series.
GAME ONEDespite the two run loss, the Greyhounds held the lead twice during the contest, going up 5-1 heading into the third. A big fifth inning out of West Texas though would temporarily give the Buffs the lead, until a two run sixth inning by the Greyhounds put them on top by one run.
It wouldn't last however, as the Buffs would go on to score three runs in the top of the ninth inning to take the final 10-8 lead. All three runs scored by West Texas came with two outs, with the run starting when the third out was at the plate with a 3-2 full count.
Sanders went a perfect 4-for-4 in the game, recording two RBIs and scoring three runs himself.
James Gray (Sr., St. Petersburg, Fla. / East Carolina University) threw 3.2 innings, and while the senior gave up two earned runs, his four strikeouts kept his top 10 national ranking for strikeouts per nine innings alive, pitching more strikeouts then number of innings.
GAME TWOThe second game of the day saw even more offense out of the Greyhounds, with ENMU putting up nine runs. The team had back to back three run innings in the second and third innings, jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead.
Clyde Kendrick (Jr., Vicksburg, Miss. / Holmes Community College) got the start and the win in the contest, throwing six innings and giving up only two earned runs while throwing six strikeouts. The junior is now 2-0 on the season.
"When we put Kendrick on the mound we know we have a good chance to win. He is a high energy guy and is definitely a nuisance to teams we face," said Gomez.
Charles Sandberg Jr. (Jr., Bradenton, Fla. / State College of Fla. Manatee-Sarasota) had three hits in three at bats, scoring three runs and driving in an additional three runs in the contest. Ward also recorded three hits in the game, scoring two runs and driving in another.
Zach Shank (R-Fr., Gallup, N.M. / Oklahoma Baptist University) came in as relief for three innings, earning the save and stretching his shutout streak to over 10 innings. Shank threw three strikeouts and gave up only one hit on the day.
