LAREDO, Texas – Eastern New Mexico Baseball took both games of a doubleheader against Texas A&M International on Saturday afternoon at Jorge Haynes Field. In game one, the Greyhounds offense put up seven runs in the 3
rd inning during a 10-7 victory. Then, Eastern used supreme pitching and timely hitting to win 2-1 in the second game of the day. Eastern improves to 4-3 on the season with the same conference record. Texas A&M international drop to 1-7 overall, while holding a 1-6 conference standing.
GAME ONE: ENMU 10, TAMIU 7
Entering the third inning, Texas A&M International led 1-0 following a sacrifice fly in the 2
nd inning. The Greyhounds offense sparked seven runs in the third inning, to open a 7-1 advantage. With two runners on and one out,
Willie Ponce singled to left center to tie the game at 1-1. A bases loaded single from
Luciano Terilli brought home two runs to give ENMU the lead.
Beau Preston followed with a 2-RBI double, and
Juan Avila rounded the bases on a two-run homerun to right centerfield, 7-1 ENMU.
The Greyhounds picked up two more runs in the next inning, with Preston taking advantage of a bases loaded situation to single home a pair of runs to go up 9-1. The home team started to eat at the Eastern lead, scoring five runs in the bottom of the 4
th inning (9-6, ENMU). Both teams scored from a solo homerun before the game ended, with
Demetrio Archuleta playing longball in the 7
th inning. After a 1-2-3 seventh inning, ENMU claimed a 10-7 victory in game one.
NOTABLE STATS
- The Greyhounds outhit the Dustdevils 13-9 in the game, with five extra base hits.
- Seven different hitters recorded a base hit for ENMU, with Ponce and Preston each having three hits. Avila and Archuleta finished with two hits each, with each hitting a homerun.
- Preston collected four RBIs, with Terilli and Avila gathering two RBIs.
- Adrian Rubio started the game on the hill, throwing 3.2 innings during a no-decision. Rubio gave up eight hits and six earned runs in his outing. Josaiah Estrella picked up the win, tossing 3.1 innings with just one run allowed from three hits.
- Lalo Salinas allowed nine of the 10 Greyhound runs in 3.1 innings pitched in the loss. TAMIU had four other arms take the hill, combining for 3.2 innings and giving up one run on five hits.
GAME TWO: ENMU 2, TAMIU 1
Hits were hard to come by in the second game of the doubleheader, with ENMU being the first team to have multiple hits in one inning during the fourth frame. In that inning, ENMU took a 1-0 lead over the Dustdevils with Ponce and
Daniel Pruitt getting back-to-back two out hits. Ponce doubled with two outs, then Pruitt singled to right field to score the games first run.
Ruger Bravo worked their way through the first five innings, allowing just two hits in that time. The Dustdevils did finally break through in the sixth inning, using their first extra base hit of the game to get a runner in scoring position. Two batters later, a fielder's choice brought the run to the plate to tie the game at 1-1.
To lead off the 7
th inning, Pruitt crushed a solo homerun to deep left field to restore the Greyhounds lead over TAMIU. Bravo did the rest in the 7
th inning, posting a 1-2-3 final inning to secure a complete game 2-1 victory for the Greyhounds.
NOTABLE STATS
- With very few hits to go around, ENMU finished with six hits and the Dustdevils had four hits.
- Pruitt finished the game 2-3 at the plate with both of ENMU's RBIs. Ponce, Archuleta, Cooper Hamilton, and Terilli each posted a base hit.
- Bravo picked up the complete game victory, recording six strikeouts with just four hits allowed with two walks and one earned run.
- For the Dustdevils, Jan Cabrera is hit with the loss giving up both runs in seven innings on six hits.
FROM THE SOURCE
"Two nice wins on the doubleheader today," said Head ENMU Baseball Coach Riley Price. "We got back to better approaches offensively in game one, although we tried to let them get back into the game with some mistakes on defense and some free bags on the mound. Ultimately, we figured it out on defense and held on for that win," said Price.
"Game two was just a stellar performance on the mound from Ruger Bravo, as he went the distance. I'm really proud of him and how he threw today," said Price. "Offensively, we failed to execute at times and made some what could have been costly base running mistakes, which we must clean up moving forward. Daniel Pruitt came up clutch with the only two RBI's in that game, one of which was the big solo shot to put us up one in the top of the seventh," said Price. "We need to go get a series win tomorrow before hitting the road,".
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The win marks the first road victory over Texas A&M International since 2021, when Eastern won a doubleheader against the Dustdevils (9-4 and 12-11). During the game one victory, 10 runs is the second most runs scored against Texas A&M International, while giving up one run is the lowest number of runs conceded.
- Eastern go for the series win tomorrow afternoon in the weekend finale. The game is scheduled for 12 p.m. (MST) from Jorge Haynes Field.
