PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico Baseball played out a split to begin the series with Texas A&M-Kingsville, during a doubleheader on Friday evening. In game one, the Greyhounds scored 13 runs from 10 hits to win big 13-1 over the Javelinas. Then, Texas A&M-Kingsville grabbed the second game of the day, 7-6, scoring the final run in the seventh inning during a close contest. ENMU shift to 5-5 on the season, with the same conference record. The Javelinas move to 4-7 overall, sporting a 3-7 conference standing.
GAME ONE: ENMU 13, TAMUK 1
Eastern wasted no time jumping on the scoreboard, as
Tucker Gideon hit a lead-off solo homerun to get ENMU on the board. The hitting continued as
Cooper Hamilton,
Willie Ponce, and
Luciano Terilli all notched singles to push another run across. Later in the inning, the Greyhounds scored a run from an error, then
Landon Pyles crushed a bases loaded triple to put Eastern ahead 6-0 after the first inning.
Two scoreless frames went by for both teams, with the Javelinas scoring their run in the 4
th inning from a wild pitch. Eastern supplied three runs in the bottom of the 4
th inning, with Ponce bringing home a run on a RBI single, a run scoring on a double play, then a run crossing the plate on a wild pitch. ENMU held a 9-1 lead after four innings.
After Eastern picked up one more run in the 5
th inning, the Greyhounds added three more insurance runs in the 6
th frame. Following a pair of walks,
Juan Avila singled through the right side to send home another run. Then, a wild pitch brought a run home, and Pyles supplied a groundout to make the score 13-1. A 1-2-3 seventh inning sealed the victory for the Greyhounds, 13-1.
NOTABLE STATS
- ENMU supplied 11 hits in the game, compared to the three hits for Texas A&M-Kingsville.
- Seven different hitters recorded a base hit, while Terilli finished 3-3 at the plate with a walk and two runs scored. Pyles and Ponce also gathered multiple hits in the game, with Pyles picking up four RBIs.
- Beau Preston drew three walks in the game, while Gideon, Hamilton, Terilli, Preston, and Avila each scored twice.
- Gavin Perry (1-2) was near perfect on the mound, recording four strikeouts in six innings giving up three hits and one unearned run. Marc Rios finished the game with three straight outs on the mound.
- Carter Poulson (0-1) was given the loss after 3.2 innings with nine runs allowed (five earned runs). Cole Payne and Cole Beddingfield finished the game with 0.1 innings and 2.0 innings on the mound, respectively.
GAME TWO: TAMUK 7, ENMU 6
The Javelinas jumped on the board quickly, using a triple and a double to score in the first inning. A two out single brought home a second run in the first inning for Texas A&M-Kingsville. Eastern scored their first run in the second inning, from a Terilli sacrifice fly scoring Ponce. Ponce reached base after leading off with a double. In the third inning,
Daniel Pruitt delivered a 2-RBI double to send the Greyhounds in front of the Javelinas, 3-2. In the next half inning, TAMUK brought home the tying run after a walk and a single to center field.
Both teams had a chance to score in the 4
th inning, with Texas A&M-Kingsville stranding a runner at third with one out, and ENMU having a runner thrown out at the plate to end the game. ENMU took advantage of a few mistakes from the Javelinas in the 5
th inning to go ahead 6-3. With the bases loaded and two outs, a wild pitch brought the leading run home, and shortly after a throwing error allowed two more runs to come across the plate.
However, Texas A&M-Kingsville rallied with four hits in the sixth inning to tie the game at 6-6. In the top of the seventh, a leadoff walk followed by a double brought in the seventh run of the game for the Javelinas, taking a 7-6 advantage. Texas A&M-Kingsville closed out the bottom of the seventh to earn a comeback win, 7-6.
NOTABLE STATS
- Both teams finished the game with nine hits, with the Javelinas posting five extra base hits.
- Pruitt and Terilli each had two hits in the game, while Pruitt picked up two RBIs.
- Adrian Rubio gets the no-decision on the hill, tossing 5.1 innings and giving up six runs with five K's. Zach Raichel threw 0.2 innings, while Josaiah Estrella (1-1) took the loss throwing one inning and giving up one run.
- Sergio Lopez (1-2) gets the win in relief, retiring all four batters he faced. Colton Taylor started the game, finishing 4.2 innings with five runs allowed on eight hits. Julius Rivas threw one inning, giving up one hit and one run.
FROM THE SOURCE
"In game one, Gavin Perry threw a gem and did a great job setting the tone on the weekend," said Head ENMU Baseball Coach Riley Price. "We swung it well and capitalized on their mistakes and took control of the game. We executed our approach at the plate very well overall," said Price.
"Game two's loss are the worst kinds to lose. Had plenty of opportunities to take over the game and just didn't," said Price. "We did not execute moving runners and made some very costly mental mistakes on defense and on the bases which just can't happen,".
"Going into tomorrow we have to show up locked in with a little more focus and consistency all the way around," said Price.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Perry earned their first win of the season, while Rios made their debut for ENMU.
- During game one, Gideon hit his second homerun of the season, while Terilli collected a season high three hits in a game. Pyles provided their season best for RBIs in a single game with four.
- ENMU continues the series tomorrow against Texas A&M-Kingsville for a single nine inning contest. The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
