Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
TYLER, Texas — Eastern New Mexico University’s baseball team continued its off-the-charts start to the 2017 season on Monday.
Suffice it to say, the competition figures to get a lot stiffer this weekend.
The Greyhounds scored in seven of eight innings on Monday to pound Texas College 14-1, completing a four-game, three-day sweep that began with three victories in Memphis over the weekend against LeMoyne-Owen.
ENMU improved to 14-1 on the season, having outscored its first 15 foes 181-37. The Hounds open LSC action on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Lone Star Conference rival Angelo State, games that will not count in league standings.
Shortstop Endy Villalona went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored on Monday as the Hounds collected 12 hits and benefited from eight walks, four hit batsmen and six errors by the NAIA Steers.
The Hounds led just 3-1 in the fifth before getting consecutive RBI singles from Alex Saville, Jared Gay and Paul Tapia. They added five in the sixth, and the game was called after eight innings by mutual agreement.
Right-handers Bryce Welborn (2-0) and Dwight Velarde allowed only one hit each and combined to strike out 12.
ENMU, which swept a doubleheader from LeMoyne-Owen 2-1 and 9-2 on Saturday, made short work of the Magicians (1-9) on Sunday in posting a 14-2 victory.
Senior right fielder Michael McNicholl got a six-run first inning going with a three-run homer before Blake Frye singled home two runs and Malcolm Smith added an RBI single. Saville’s two-run double capped a six-run fifth that also included an RBI triple by Frye and consecutive bases-loaded walks to Marcus Martinez, Villalona and McNicholl.
Junior right-hander Austin Paisar (1-0) worked five innings. Junior left-hander Victor Persad went the final four frames for a save, allowing just two hits and striking out nine.
Saturday’s opener, the first of two seven-inning contests, was tight. Right-hander Keenan Dodd (3-0) allowed five hits over five innings, striking out eight, and right-hander Nick DeArmond finished for his first save.
The Hounds scored an unearned run in the first, then made it 2-0 when sophomore Nicholas Ankerman tripled to drive in Malcolm Smith in the top of the fifth. The Magicians chased Dodd in the sixth in scoring their lone run.
In the nightcap, right-hander Scott Klein (4-0) pitched two-hit 6 1/3 innings, blanking the Magicians until the seventh and striking out 10 while surviving six walks. Freshman Lane Saunders came on to get the final two outs.
Leading 4-0, the Hounds erupted for five runs in the top of the sixth, capped by Alex Saville’s grand slam.
