PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico opened the weekend series against Lubbock Christian with a doubleheader split. ENMU battled for a one-run win in game one before falling by five runs in the nightcap.

Game One – ENMU 6, LCU 5
Demitrius DiMatteo improved to 3-1 on the season after a complete game performance in the Hub City. DiMatteo continues his solid last four outings going seven innings versus the Chaps. He tossed four strikeouts and gave up six hits and five runs (three earned). He threw 99 pitches in the win. It marks four-straight games where he has gone seven or more innings. There was a stretch in the game where he put down 14-straight batters.

"We had some good two-out at-bats," said head coach Riley Price after the game. "DiMatteo kept them off balance and Adrien Martin made some really big plays for us defensively."

ENMU responded nicely to three LCU errors. It is just the ninth time this season that the program committed three or more errors. They fall to 2-7 when doing so.

Eastern New Mexico outhit the home side, 7-6. Eiji Sawamura led the program with two singles and a double. Adrien Martin posted two singles.

After struggling on the base paths last week versus nationally ranked St. Mary's, ENMU was able to attack on the run. Both Sawamura and Gaston Galvan had a steal in the win.

Early on, the game looked to be in LCU's full control as they took a 3-0 lead over the first two innings. Eastern did not get their first runner on base until the fourth inning. In that frame, Eiji Sawamura started with a leadoff double. From there, two consecutive Lubbock Christian errors loaded the bases. A grounded 6-4-3 double play would allow ENMU to score their first run of the day. Later, Cole Curtis would cross home on a wild pitch to put the LCU advantage to 3-2.

Eastern continued their response in the fifth on a two-RBI single from Sawamura. Nicholas Miller and Isaiah Figueroa scored on the hit. With the 4-3 lead, ENMU continued to hold strong as DiMatteo held the Chaps scoreless in the frame, including an impressive 8-6-2 putout on an attempt for an inside-the-park homer. The play went to a lengthy review and went in the favor of the Greyhounds.

Jake Willerup led the sixth with a first pitch homer. It was his seventh of the season and gave ENMU a 5-3 lead. ENMU would extend the lead as they took advantage of another LCU error in the final frame. Despite allowing two runs in the seventh, the Greyhounds were able to pull off the crucial game one win.

Game Two – LCU 9, ENMU 4
Instead of LCU hurting themselves with costly errors, game two featured two ENMU errors that proved to be difference makers.

"We allowed big innings to happen," said Price after the game. "They made us pay for it."

Lubbock Christian's four-run second inning began due to a inning-opening error by Eastern. LCU's top power hitter Roe Forrest reached on an error from Logan Martin. Later on, the Chaps had two runners in scoring position with one out. A wild pitch would give the home team their first run of the game. Later, a sac-fly pushed through another run. The notable stat on the sac-fly is that it would have been the third out if the inning stayed errorless. The Chaps would tack on two other runs with a double from Hudson Grace. After the second, LCU led 4-2.

After allowing ENMU to tie the game via a two-run homer from Cole Curtis in the third, the Chaps responded well with two runs of their own. It came on a base hit that turned into a throwing error by the Hounds. This granted Lubbock Christian a 6-4 advantage in the third. Another key game defining moment came in the third. Eastern forced LCU to go to their bullpen early, however, the Chaps reliever proved to be extremely effective at halting ENMU's bats. Lubbock Christian's Caden Cline allowed just five hits and no runs over the final five innings of the game. He did not walk any batters.

Lubbock Christian extended their lead by scoring three runs in the sixth. A two-RBI triple and RBI-single guided the way for the runs in the inning. With the score at 9-4, the Chaps quickly put the game away and earn a split for the day.

Cole Curtis led the game for ENMU with three hits and two RBI's. Gabriel Watson and Isaiah Figueroa both had two hits in the loss. The Greyhounds struck out 10 times in the contest, including four different batters put down on strikes two times each. Eastern allowed five multi-base hits out of their 10 total hits allowed.

Both teams will be back in action for a single game on Saturday, April 11.