Hounds fall short in final two games of series with WT

PORTALES — If nothing else, give Eastern New Mexico University’s baseball team credit for scrapping.

After getting run off the field by 15th-ranked West Texas A&M in the first two of their four-game Lone Star Conference weekend series, the Greyhounds battled from behind in each of the last two contests before falling short.

In Sunday’s finale, the Hounds (1-7, 1-7 LSC) were held hitless for five innings, then erased most of a 9-0 deficit before losing to the rival Buffaloes 10-8 in a nearly-four-hour marathon at Greyhound Field.

ENMU, which has lost seven in a row since a season-opening 4-3 win at St. Edward’s on Feb. 4, scored four times in the sixth and added four in the eighth before right-hander Chris Rodriguez — the Buffs’ fifth pitcher of the day — came on to get the final four outs. Senior left-hander Jack Eagan (3-0) pitched three perfect innings in relief of opener Reese Miller to earn the win.

Center fielder Camden Matthews had his first multi-hit and multi-RBI game of the season for ENMU, going 2-for-5 with a two-run single in the eighth inning. Freshman right-hander Noah De La Riva (0-2) worked four innings, allowing four hits and four runs (three earned) with three walks and three strikeouts.

WT (6-0, 4-0), which received nine walks and six hit batsmen while stranding a whopping 19 baserunners, took the lead with a couple of two-out RBI singles in the first and steadily expanded it, with designated hitter Ryan Johnson’s two-run double making it 9-0 in the sixth. ENMU chased reliever Sasha Sneider in the bottom half, then knocked out left-hander A.G. Ayala in the eighth before Rodriguez got the final out to leave the tying runs stranded at the corners.

WT 22-7, ENMU 1-6 (Saturday) — Both games in the twin bill were only seven innings, but the Buffs needed just three to do their damage in the opener — five runs in the third (to erase a 1-0 deficit), 10 in the fourth and seven in the sixth.

Right-hander Nick Marshall (2-0) went five innings, allowing just three singles and an unearned run. Johnson led a 21-hit barrage, going 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and four RBIs, while third baseman Adam Becker knocked in five runs with a three-run double, a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly.

In the nightcap, ENMU grabbed a 4-3 lead with a three-run second, but the Buffs countered with four in the third aided greatly by two ENMU fielding miscues.

Sophomore right-hander Tommy Perez then worked 4 1/3 shutout innings in relief of starter Damian Acosta (1-1), allowing four hits with four walks and six strikeouts, to give the Hounds a shot.

ENMU pulled to within a run on a wild pitch in the sixth, but Rodriguez got the final out of the inning to strand two runners and stranded two more in the seventh for the save.

WT 16, ENMU 5 (Friday) — The scheduled nine-inning affair was cut to seven by the 10-run rule.

ENMU took a 3-1 lead in the first on designated hitter Spencer Roach’s RBI infield single and a two-run triple by right fielder Cooper Hamilton, but WT scored in each of the next five innings — including four in the second and six in the fourth — to take control.

Johnson drove in four runs with a two-run triple and a pair of sacrifice flies. Nine players hit safely in the Buffs’ 16-hit attack, led by catcher Kenny Badgett with 3-for-3, two walks and a pair of RBIs.

Meantime, the Hounds collected 10 hits, with Hamilton going 3-for-3 and Roach and first baseman Nyles Duren both finishing 2-for-3.

ENMU steps outside conference play this weekend, welcoming Adams State for a two-game series beginning with a 2 p.m. single game on Saturday.