PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico baseball team will take on Tarleton State this weekend in Stephenville, Texas in a four game series that will not count towards the Greyhound's overall conference record.

Eastern New Mexico won two of three games against Cameron last weekend in a shortened series due to inclement weather on Sunday afternoon and will look to build on a 5-2 road record for the season. The series is set for a single game at 3 p.m. MST on Friday night and then a doubleheader scheduled for 1 p.m. MST on Saturday afternoon, and will conclude with a single game on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

The Texans have struggled so far this season, putting together an overall record of 5-13 thus far after going 35-17 a season ago. The Hounds currently rank third in the LSC with a team batting average of .324 and have fed off of the starting pitching efforts from senior Enrique Perez and junior Fernando Burgos, who will both enter this weekend's series with records of 2-0 on the year. Perez will be well rested after not getting a chance to pitch last weekend against Cameron due to the fourth game of the series cancellation.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hounds scored 10 or more runs in two out of the three games in game one and game three of last weekend's series at home against Cameron, totaling 24 hits between the two games. Those two offensive performances raised the team batting average all the way up to .324 and generated some much needed momentum at the plate for the Hounds heading into this weekend's series against Tarleton State.

The Hounds had three batters record multi-hit games in the series opener on Friday night to help overcome five fielding errors in the contest for the Hounds to take home game one by a final score of 11-8. Eastern scored three runs in the bottom half of the seventh inning to walk off with a 6-5 win in game number two thanks to a sacrifice fly to right field from senior Malcolm Boehm that sent Luidinson Hidalgo home for the winning run.

Eastern New Mexico couldn't manage to pull off a third consecutive win for the weekend despite putting a season-high 12 runs on the board and coming back from down by as many as six runs to make it a one-run ball game in the final inning.

Junior Joseph Zubia led the way offensively for the Greyhounds all weekend, going 6-for-12 at the plate and crossed home plate six times throughout the series. The Hounds hit .348 as a team throughout the series and recorded 27 RBI's as a team.

SCOUTING THE TEXANS
Tarleton State lost all four games against Angelo State last weekend and have now dropped five straight contests entering this weekend's set of games. The Texans have played just four games at home this year, posting a record of 3-1 with all three wins coming against UC-Colorado Springs.

The Texans rank last in the Lone Star Conference with a team ERA of 7.88 and have struggled mightily on the mound all season. Tarleton State has already surrendered 10 or more runs three different occasions this season and will have to find a way to slow down a Greyhound offense that enters the series red hot after their performance at the plate last week.

Junior Blake Burns leads the Texans with a batting average of .367 in his 15 games played this year to help lead an offense that is hitting .257 as a team. Classmate Tyler Fowler is the only other Texan that will enter the weekend with an average above .300 with a mark of .313.

HISTORY WITH THE TEXANS
Eastern New Mexico and Tarleton State will continue a long-line of games this weekend, as Friday's game will mark the 110^th time the two ball clubs have faced off with each other. Tarleton leads the overall series with a record of 71-37-1 and swept the Hounds in Stephenville, Texas in the last meeting between the teams a year ago.

The Hounds have won just 14 games in 54 attempts on the road against the Texans, having last won back on Mar. 14^th, 2016. Eastern New Mexico struggled at the plate last season against the Texans, failing to score five or more runs in any game throughout the series.

LIGHTS OUT LIAM
Sophomore Liam Sabiston was tabbed the Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week earlier this week after picking up his first win of the season in a relief effort against Cameron in the first game of the doubleheader last Saturday. Sabiston threw four shutout innings after inheriting a 5-1 deficit on the scoreboard and allowed the Greyhounds to come back and walk-off in the bottom of the seventh to pull off the 6-5 victory.

Batters hit just .077 and struck out four times over the course of the four innings of work for Sabiston. The appearance was just the second of the season for Sabiston in relief duties, and he has given up just two hits throughout the 14 at bats he has faced this season.

PROVIDING A SOLID ANKERMAN
Senior Nicholas Ankerman produced a team-high six RBI's in the three-game series against Cameron and has now reached base in eight straight games this season. Ankerman is now tied for the team lead with 10 RBI's on the season and has also stolen 13 bases throughout the year.

YOU'RE ELECTRIC ENRIQUE
Senior Enrique Perez is now the only pitcher in the Lone Star Conference with enough qualified innings to still sport an ERA of 0.00 for the year. Batters are hitting just .145 against the Albuquerque, N.M., third best in the conference, and his 30 strikeouts on the year is tied for second best in the league.

Perez has thrown 19.0 innings without giving up a single earned run and will be relied upon to secure at least one win over the Texans this weekend in Stephenville.