Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
ENMU's Andres Quintana reaches for the plate to score as Arkansas-Fort Smith catcher Trevor Brown awaits the relay through during the Greyhounds' 10-0 victory over the Lions on Friday night at Greyhound Field.
PORTALES - For a while, Eastern New Mexico University was one of the hottest teams in the Lone Star Conference.
Strong pitching from Arkansas-Fort Smith in the final two games cooled off the Greyhounds, who were trying for their third consecutive LSC series win.
After taking the first two matchups in the four-game set, giving them eight wins over a 10-game stretch, the Hounds nearly got shut out in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader, then fell apart late in a 13-4 setback to UAFS on Sunday at Greyhound Field.
Sophomore right-hander Logan Grant was one strike away from a seven-inning shutout for UAFS on Saturday, then junior right-hander Dylan Rollins followed with eight strong in the finale. Meantime, Fort Smith collected 17 hits in Sunday's triumph, with four players notching three apiece.
ENMU (10-14, 9-13 LSC) led 3-2 after three innings, but UAFS tied it in the fourth, took the lead on an RBI single by senior right fielder Kinner Brasher in the sixth and piled on with nine runs over the final three stanzas.
Hounds junior right-hander Tommy Perez (0-3) allowed nine hits over six innings and left trailing just 4-3, but Fort Smith (9-15, 9-15) torched the ENMU bullpen the rest of the way.
Sophomore catcher Niko Patrick had a pair of run-scoring singles and an RBI double for the Lions, while Rollins (2-1) needed just 106 pitches to get through his outing. He permitted eight hits and three runs (two earned), with one walk and four strikeouts.
Freshman second baseman Dax Edwards had his second three-hit game of the weekend for the Hounds, while freshman designated hitter Spencer Roach added a pair of knocks.
ENMU begins a four-game LSC series against Oklahoma Christian with a 2 p.m. clash on Friday at Edmond, Okla.
ENMU 15-3, Arkansas-Fort Smith 6-5 (Saturday) - Grant (2-2) gave up a two-out, three-run homer to ENMU catcher Jack Thompson in the seventh inning of Game 2, but got the next batter to finish a five-hitter, with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Designated hitter Kaleb Shaffer broke a scoreless tie against ENMU junior right-hander Damian Acosta (2-3) with a run-scoring single in the fourth, and the Lions chased him in a three-run sixth that included RBI doubles by Patrick and Brasher.
Patrick went 3-for-4 with a trio of two-baggers, the last knocking in the Lions' final tally in the seventh. Roach, the reigning LSC hitter of the week, was 2-for-3 for ENMU.
In the opener, UAFS grabbed a 6-3 lead with a five-run second, but the Hounds rallied to take an 8-6 advantage with four in the third and played add-on after that.
Sophomore right-hander Dalton Thatcher (2-2) relieved starter Ruger Bravo with two on and two out in the second. He got out of that mess and went on to hurl 5 1/3 innings of three-hit shutout relief, walking just one and striking out six.
Meantime, the Hounds pounded three Lions pitchers for 15 hits, including a third-inning leadoff homer by first baseman Nick Schifftner and a three-run, inside-the-park round-tripper by right fielder Cooper Hamilton to cap a four-run sixth. The home runs were the first of the season for both players.
Hamilton finished 2-for-3 and drove in a fourth run with a triple in the second, while Schifftner went 4-for-4 and also had four RBIs, including a two-run single in the fifth which was misplayed in the outfield to allow a third run to score. The top five batters in the ENMU order went 11-for-17 with 12 runs scored, 12 RBIs and four walks.
Third baseman Brooks Sunny was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for the Lions.
ENMU 10, Arkansas-Fort Smith 0 (Friday) - Freshman right-hander Noah De La Riva (2-2) threw a 105-pitch, six-hit shutout. He allowed six hits, walked three and struck out six while the Hounds, who led 9-0 after three innings, ended it on the 10-run rule on Schifftner's one-out, run-scoring single in the eighth.
ENMU posted 13 hits, with Roach finishing 3-for-3 and driving in five runs, Edmonds going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored and Schifftner finishing 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Roach had a two-run double in the first, a two-run single in ENMU's five-run second and an infield RBI single in the third.
