SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Eastern New Mexico Baseball program dropped a pair of tight games against St. Mary's University on Friday afternoon at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. The Rattlers scored a run late to take game one, 5-4, while ENMU came up short in game two against St. Mary's, 9-7. The Hounds shift to 21-22 overall, with a 19-22 LSC standing. Meanwhile, St. Mary's improve to 21-23 on the campaign, and move to 19-23 in conference play.

GAME ONE: StMU 5, ENMU 4

The contest began with the Rattlers getting on the board, scoring one run in the first inning. St. Mary's started by loading the bases with no outs, but only produced one run from the no out situation. The Greyhounds struck in the second inning, using back-to-back hits to tie the game. Willie Ponce reached on an infield single, then advanced to second base on a throwing error. Dylan Hummel followed with a single into the right-center gap to tie the score at 1-1.
 
St. Mary's replied in the bottom of the inning, with the Rattlers posting three straight hits with two outs. A double started the scoring, then a pair of singles led to two runs crossing the plate for St.MU, 3-1. After a scoreless third inning, each team produced a run in the fourth inning. The Greyhounds scored after Nick Schifftner delivered an RBI single with two outs, while St. Mary's picked up a run after two consecutive hits, 4-2 St.MU.
 
Eastern tied the contest in the fifth inning, locking up the score at 4-4. Cooper Hamilton reached base after a single to the pitcher and moved into scoring position on a throwing error. Demetrio Archuleta singled to put runners on the corners. Archuleta then stole second base, with Hamilton going home on a Rattlers throwing error. Two batters later, Mason Estrada singled up the middle to tie the contest.
 
However, a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning brought the score line back in favor of St. Mary's. From there, Ponce doubled to put the tying run on second base. After a hit by pitch, the Rattlers turned a 1-6-3 double play to end game one 5-4 for St. Mary's.

NOTABLE STATS

• St. Mary's picked up 10 hits during the game, compared to the Greyhounds nine hits.
• All but one ENMU batter recorded a base hit, with Ponce accounting for two hits.
• Hummel, Estrada, and Schifftner all drove in a run during the game.
• Adrian Rubio tossed a complete game in the loss, striking out six batters during the contest.
• Brett Brown gets the win in 1.1 innings of relief, allowing no runs and no hits. Andrew Girod earned a save for the Rattlers, tossing one scoreless inning and surrendering one hit. Colin Schmidt takes a no decision, giving up eight hits and four runs (three earned runs).

GAME TWO: StMU 9, ENMU 7

The Greyhounds wasted no time getting on the scoreboard with two runs in the first inning. After Archuleta reached on a hit by pitch, Hamilton singled up the middle to put runners on the corners. Jonatan Clough followed with an RBI single, then Hummel also provided an RBI single to put the Hounds ahead 2-0. The home team fought back with three runs in the bottom of the first frame, to hold a 3-2 edge over ENMU.

In the second inning, ENMU were held to a 1-2-3 inning while St. Mary's scored three runs on consecutive four singles. The Greyhounds responded to the Rattlers runs with a pair of their own, cutting the score to 6-4 St.MU. Hamilton reached with two outs on a single up the middle, then Clough singled through the left side to continue the inning. Hummel followed with a ground-rule double to right field to plate one run. ENMU picked up another run after a St. Mary's balk.
 
After the Hounds scoring, St. Mary's produced a run in the third and fourth inning to take an 8-4 lead. ENMU cut into that lead again after a run came across in the fifth inning. Hamilton and Clough each reached base on a hit to start the inning, with Hamilton reaching on a single and Clough doubling. Ponce was able to drive home a run after a single through the left side. The Rattlers responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth, 9-6 St.MU.
 
Eastern plated two runs in the seventh, after a triple from Clough scored Hamilton after he reached on a lead-off walk. Ponce sent home Clough on a ground out to shift the score to 9-7 St.MU. For the rest of the contest, a walk was the only runner to reach base as the Rattlers ended the contest ahead 9-7.

NOTABLE STATS

• The Greyhounds contributed 11 hits during the game, while St. Mary's posted 12 hits.
• Five different hitters accounted for all the ENMU hits, with three Greyhounds recording multiple hits.
• Clough finished a perfect 4-4 at the dish, just a home run short of the cycle. Hamilton sprayed three hits in the game, and Hummel produced a pair of hits.
• Three different Greyhounds finished with two RBIs: Clough, Hummel, and Ponce. Hamilton scored four of the Hounds six runs, with Clough scoring twice.
• Noah De La Riva is tagged for the defeat, giving up six runs in two innings of work. William McBride tossed 4.0 innings of relief, while Anthony Gonzalez worked 2.0 shutout innings.
• The winning pitcher, Kaleb Gauna, threw effectively allowing three runs on four hits in 4.2 innings. Starter Clay Bradford finished 3.2 innings, surrendering four runs from seven hits. Girod entered the game to earn his second save of the day, giving up one walk in a scoreless ninth inning.

FROM THE SOURCE

"Pretty mediocre day for us today all around," said Head Baseball Coach Riley Price. "They did not allow many free bases and we left way too many stranded on the base paths in both games. They cashed in on opportunities more than we did," said Price. "Got to have better approaches with two strikes tomorrow and not make as many mistakes over the plate on the mound. Got to get back to playing as one and need a few more guys to step up," said Price. "Gonzalez gave us a great chance to be able to come back in game two, but we fell short. We need to regroup and come back ready to respond tomorrow," said Price.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• In game two, Hamilton posted a season best four runs scored in the game. Clough set a career best four hits during the game and has set a new season high seven game hitting streak. Clough's pair of RBIs is the 14^th multi-RBI game this season, leading the team.
• Hummel tied a season high with two RBIs in the game, while Ponce secured his 10^th multi-RBI game of the season.
• On the mound, Gonzalez tossed his second straight scoreless outing. In his last appearance, Gonzalez tossed 4.2 scoreless innings in route to a 6-4 ENMU win over Oklahoma Christian (4/16).
• ENMU looks to bounce back tomorrow, when the Hounds will play the Rattlers in a doubleheader, with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. at Sullivan Field on the campus of University of Incarnate Word.