PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico baseball team will close out its home portion of the 2019 schedule with a four-game Lone Star Conference series against Tarleton State this weekend.
The Hounds will open the slate on Friday night with a 7 p.m. game. The Greyhounds will return the field on Saturday for Military Appreciation Day doubleheader as a part of Super Greyhound Weekend with the first game starting at 1 p.m. The Hounds will then celebrate Senior Day on Sunday with festivities starting before the 1 p.m. first pitch.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hounds will look to get back on-track this weekend after being swept in a four-game road series at Cameron last weekend. The Aggies defeated the Greyhounds 10-0, 12-4, 11-0, and 17-7.
After struggling from the plate in the first three games, Eastern managed to get some momentum in the series finale. The Hounds managed to push across their seven runs on eight hits and were able to jump out to a 2-0 edge through the first two innings. The Aggies put together a big six-run third inning to take the lead, but the Greyhounds fought back with three runs in the fifth on a Eurick Perez RBI double and a Joel Paulino two RBI single to close the gap to 6-5. Unfortunately, Cameron was able to pull away with a six-run fifth and a five-run seventh to close out the game.
SCOUTING THE TEXANS
Tarleton State makes its way into the weekend with a 12-30 record and a 2-14 mark in Lone Star Conference play. After being swept at home by No. 2 Angelo State 12-1, 4-3, 14-0, and 19-5 last weekend, the Texans have dropped eight straight coming into the ENMU series.
The Texans have had a rough 2019 season from both the plate and the mound as they rank last in LSC play in team batting average (.233) and are second-to-last in team ERA (9.88). Junior infielder Blake Burns is the squad's hitting leader (.299) while freshman catcher Colby Seltzer leads the team with 36 hits on a .290 average and 12 doubles. Tyler Parker has been TSU's power bat this season, bashing a team-high six homers and 28 RBIs on a .262 average. Despite the Texans' pitching struggles, senior righty Brian Archibald has had a strong season for Tarleton, going 5-4 with a 3.03 ERA with 62 strikeouts and just 15 walks in 62.1 innings of work.
BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME
The Hounds will be looking for a better result in their second go-around against the Texans this season. Eastern and Tarleton State faced each other in a non-conference road series in from March 8-10 in Stephenville, Texas. The Texans took three of four, including pulling out a 9-8 win in the finale after rallying from four runs down with a game-tying run in the ninth and then a walk-off hit in the 10th inning. Eastern's lone win came in the second game of the Saturday doubleheader as the Greyhounds surged ahead with a five-run first inning that was capped off on a Luidinson Hidalgo two-run home run over the left field fence.
NECK-AND-NECK
This weekend's matchup will have huge implications on postseason play as the Hounds and Texans are currently battling for the last spot in the Lone Star Conference Tournament. Tarleton State currently holds a one-game lead over the Greyhounds with eight games left in the conference season. If the Hounds can take three of four, they would jump ahead of Tarleton for the No. 6 spot in the tournament heading into the final weekend of regular season of play. The Hounds close out LSC play with four games at Texas A&M-Kingsville while the Texans wrap up with a four-game home slate against UT-Permian Basin.
SENIOR DAY
Before the start of Sunday's game, Eastern New Mexico will be honoring its 10 seniors who will be playing their final home game at Greyhound Baseball Field. The Hounds will be graduating six starters, including the team's top battery in ace Enrique Perez and catcher Eurick Perez. Joining them will be the squad's starting middle infield in second baseman Paul Tapia and Nicholas Ankerman along with reserve infielder Marc Vega as well as outfielders Chris Padilla and Malcolm Boehm. Three of the Hounds top relievers in Elijah Cappello, Cesar Capellan, and Michael Holliday will round out the class of 2019.
PAULINO'S HOME TEAR
Joel Paulino will be looking to stay hot from the plate this weekend as the junior infielder has swung the bat well at Greyhound Field this season. In 14 home games this season, Paulino has batted a team-best .439 with a .511 on-base percentage as opposed to a .262 average with a .403 on-base percentage in 21 road games.
