LAREDO, Texas - Eastern New Mexico baseball split a doubleheader with Texas A&M International on Saturday afternoon, dropping game one 9-7 before bouncing back with a 9-0 shutout victory in the nightcap.

Game 1: TAMIU 9, ENMU 7

Gabriel Watson paced the Greyhounds' offense in the opener, going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Eiji Sawamura and Adrien Martin each collected two hits, with Sawamura recording a pair of triples. Nicholas Miller and Ryan Weaver also contributed hits, while Martin led the team with three RBI. Isaiah Figueroa added a hit in the losing effort.
 
The Greyhounds jumped out to an early lead as Sawamura opened the game with a lead off triple and scored on a Cole Curtis ground ball to shortstop. Texas A&M International answered with two runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead.
 
Eastern responded with three runs in the second inning after loading the bases with one out. Figueroa opened the frame with a single and advanced to third on a Galvon Gaston double. Sawamura and Curtis were hit by pitches in consecutive at-bats to tie the game at 2-2. The Hounds capitalized on a fielding error by the Dustdevils' second baseman to score two more runs and take a 4-2 advantage after two innings.
 
TAMIU cut the deficit to one with a run in the third before Martin's RBI single to right field in the fourth extended Eastern's lead to 5-3. The Greyhounds added two more runs in the fifth when Sawamura belted his second triple of the game and later scored on a Watson single, giving ENMU a 7-3 cushion after five innings.
 
The Dustdevils rallied in the bottom of the seventh, taking advantage of two Greyhound errors and six hits to plate six runs and secure the 9-7 victory.
 
Cole Lancaster (6-6) took the loss despite a solid effort, allowing nine runs on nine hits with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. Micah Early pitched in relief, tossing a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

Game 2: ENMU 9, TAMIU 0

The Greyhounds bounced back emphatically in the nightcap behind a dominant pitching performance and timely hitting.
 
Watson and Sawamura sparked the offense early, each recording hits as Eastern plated four runs in the top of the second inning to take control.
 
After two scoreless frames, Curtis extended the lead to 5-0 with a solo home run in the fifth inning.
 
The Greyhounds put the game away with four insurance runs in the sixth. Miller and Figueroa drew walks before Weaver was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Riley Hall worked a walk, and Sawamura followed with an RBI single to right field, pushing the advantage to 8-0. Martin capped the scoring by driving in Sawamura for the final run of the game.
 
Nick Mooney (1-6) earned his first win of the season, tossing 5.0 shutout innings while allowing six hits and striking out one. Jedadiah Trudeau was excellent in relief, pitching 2.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and two hits allowed.

UP NEXT

Eastern New Mexico and Texas A&M International will conclude the four-game series Sunday at 12 p.m. MT / 1 p.m. CT in Laredo.