Hounds sweep Dallas

BY THE STAFF OF THE NEWS

DALLAS — Is there a better way to erase the sting of a two-game losing streak than with a two-game winning streak?

Probably not. And that’s exactly what Eastern New Mexico’s baseball team did Friday, opening a four-game non-conference series at Dallas Christian with a doubleheader sweep. The Greyhounds took Game 1 by a 4-3 count before blowing away the Crusaders 10-4 in the second game.

In Friday’s opener, ENMU jumped on the board first, as Miles Hilton delivered a two-out, two RBI double to right in the top of the second inning and gave the Hounds an early advantage.

Eastern added some insurance in the third inning when, after an Alex Kuhn leadoff triple, he crossed home on Nicholas Ankerman’s sacrifice fly, expanding the lead to 3-0.

The Crusaders caused some problems for ENMU in the bottom of the third after the first three batters reached and scored a run to make it 3-1, but Hounds starting pitcher Joel Torres got out of the jam by recording a popout and two strikeouts in between a walk to keep the Eastern edge at two.

The Greyhounds pushed their advantage back to three in the fifth. Ankerman led off the inning with a single and a steal, advanced to third on a Paul Tapia sacrifice bunt and scored on a Malcolm Boehm single to make it a 4-1 game.

Dallas Christian pushed across a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to make things interesting, but Hounds closer Liam Sabiston was able to seal the win by inducing a groundout to first with runners on first and second and two outs.

The Greyhounds scored their four runs on eight hits and committed four errors while the Crusaders tallied their three runs on six hits and no errors.

Seven different Hounds recorded hits in the contest, led by Kuhn who slashed 2-for-3 with a run. Hilton drove in two after batting 1-for-3. Eastern stole five bases in the seven-inning game, led by Ankerman, who tallied a pair.

Torres picked up the win in his start, moving to 3-2 on the season after throwing six innings and giving up just one unearned run on five hits, a pair of walks and five strikeouts. Sabiston recorded his second save of the season.

In the twinbill’s second game, the Hounds scratched across the first run after Ankerman led off the inning with a double and scored three batters later on a Boehm sacrifice fly to center, giving Eastern an early 1-0 edge.

The Crusaders were able to take their first lead in the series with a pair of runs in the first and added an additional run in the bottom of the second to hold a 3-1 edge over the Greyhounds.

However, the Hounds were able to battle back in the top of the third. Following a Paul Tapia double, Joel Paulino knocked him in with a single, stole a pair of bases and then scored the tying run on a Boehm double to make it a 3-3 game.

The Greyhounds took the lead for good in the top of the fourth after Kuhn opened the inning with a single, and Kuhn would later come around to score on a Dallas Christian error to give Eastern a 4-3 edge.

ENMU added another insurance run in the fifth when Boehm came around after a leadoff walk and a stolen base followed by a Ryan Anderson RBI double, expanding the advantage to 5-3.

The Greyhounds pushed two more across in the sixth after Randall Lucero and Malcolm Smith led off the inning with back-to-back singles and advanced to scoring position on an Ankerman sac bunt. Lucero crossed home plate on a wild pitch and Smith later scored on a Boehm single to make it a 7-3 Hounds lead.

Eastern put the game out of reach in the seventh with three more runs on a Lucero RBI single and a two-RBI double by Paul Tapia, eventually pulling away for the 10-4 win.

The Hounds scored their 10 runs on 14 hits and didn’t commit any errors while the Crusaders closed out the game with four runs on five hits and one error.

Six Greyhounds recorded multiple hits in the contest. Boehm finished 2-for-2 with a team-high three RBIs and a run. Tapia knocked in two after slashing 2-for-5 with a run. Lucero went 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI; Ankerman finished 2-for-3 with a pair of runs; and Kuhn slashed 2-for-4 with two runs.

The Greyhounds blistered the basepaths with 11 stolen bases, the second-most in a single game this season and tying the third-most in program history. Paulino finished with four steals while Ankerman and Boehm each tailed a pair.

Enrique Perez picked up the complete-game win, giving up four earned runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts to move to 4-1 on the season.

ENMU and Dallas Christian played another doubleheader on Saturday.