Hounds pound out 21 hits in finale

ODESSA, Texas — Eastern New Mexico University’s baseball team pounded out 21 hits, including eight for extra bases, in a season-ending 15-6 Lone Star Conference rout of Texas-Permian Basin on Sunday.

The victory gave the Greyhounds (32-18, 10-12 LSC) the series 3-1, but they needed a sweep of the last-place Falcons to slip into the fourth and final spot for this week’s Lone Star Conference tournament.

As it turned out, Cameron (29-18, 10-10) posted a four-game home sweep of Texas-A&M-Kingsville to overtake idle Tarleton State (28-20, 11-12) for that spot. The sweep also knocked the Javelinas (31-16, 16-8) into second place behind Angelo State (39-11, 17-6) and allows the Rams to host this week’s double-elimination event.

ENMU’s 32 wins are the second-most in the history of the program.

Shortstop Alex DeLaCruz doubled, tripled and hit his seventh home run of the season, a third-inning grand slam. He went 3-for-4 for the game with two walks and six RBIs.

DeLaCruz finished the regular season as the LSC leader in batting average (.441), slugging percentage (.672), runs scored (65) and hits (78), the latter two by wide margins.

Third baseman Garlind Webster was 4-for-6 and also fell just short of the cycle with two singles, a double and a triple.

ENMU stranded 13 runners in the game, and the damage could have been worse had the Falcons (9-40, 2-22) not turned three double plays.

Eight of the nine Hounds hit safely in the game, including seven with at least two hits. Only cleanup man Michael McNicholl, who led the LSC in RBIs this season with 58, went hitless (0-for-6).

The Hounds batted around in a three-run first against UTPB starter Matt Szymczak (2-9), and the six-run third capped by the DeLaCruz slam made it 9-1. His two-run double in the fourth pushed the lead to 11-3.

Senior right-hander Scott Klein (5-4) went six innings, allowing five hits and striking out six, while senior right-hander Matt Garley picked up a three-inning save.