Hounds get series split at Cameron

LAWTON, Okla. – Junior right-hander Josaiah Estrella pitched six solid innings and Eastern New Mexico University’s baseball team salvaged a four-game Lone Star Conference split against Cameron on Sunday, defeating the Aggies 7-1.

ENMU (13-13, 11-13 LSC) has now split five of its six league series. The Greyhounds have home splits against then-top 5 teams Angelo State and West Texas A&M, but struggled to tread water against the lowly Aggies (7-21, 7-21).

Estrada (2-1) allowed just four hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. Sophomore right-hander Zach Raichel and junior lefty Luciano Terilli finished up.

The Hounds outhit Cameron 9-7, with seven players hitting safely. Junior shortstop Willie Ponce went 2-for-4 with a two-run double and a pair of runs scored, while senior right fielder Cooper Hamilton was 2-for-4 and knocked in three runs.

“We were able to salvage the weekend today,” Hounds coach Riley Price said. “We had a great performance on the mound today, Estrella with a phenomenal start and Raichel and Terilli behind him.

“Offensively we did a better job of extending innings after they made mistakes, and we ran the bases better.”

Ponce’s two-out double in the second made it 4-0 and was probably the key hit in the game. Meantime, Hamilton had RBI singles in the first and seventh and added a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Cameron’s only run came in the sixth on an RBI double by senior catcher Will Grant.

As the season reaches the halfway point, the Hounds are 11th in the 14-team league, but still only three games behind fourth-place Texas-Tyler (15-11, 15-11).

ENMU returns home for a four-game series this weekend against Texas-Permian Basin (12-12, 12-12), beginning with a 5 p.m. single tilt on Friday.

Cameron 5-6, ENMU 3-1 (Saturday) – The Aggies, who came into the weekend with a staff earned run average of just under 11.00, held the Hounds to five hits in the twin bill.

In the opener, ENMU erased a 2-0 deficit with a three-run fifth on just one hit, but the Aggies countered with three of their own in the bottom half, highlighted by Grant’s go-ahead, two-run single.

Sophomore right-hander Garrett Klein picked up the win with 2 1/3 shutout innings in relief. After walking three straight hitters with two out in the seventh, he gave way to junior righty Carter Bourg, who struck out Hamilton swinging to end it.

In Game 2, the Aggies scored unearned runs off junior left-hander Rugar Bravo (1-2) in the bottom of the first. The Hounds pulled to 3-1 on Terilli’s RBI double in the fifth, but senior first baseman Drew Durst’s three-run homer off reliever Adrian Rubio in the bottom half put it out of reach.

Senior right-hander Matthew Scott went 4 2/3 innings for the win, while junior right-hander Josh Martinez retired all seven hitters he faced, striking out three, to earn a save.

ENMU 6, Cameron 4 (Friday) – Junior catcher Daniel Pruitt capped a three-run eighth with a two-run double and the Hounds held on to win the series opener.

ENMU trailed three times by a run, but took the lead in the eighth inning as Ponce delivered a two-out, go-ahead RBI single to left and Pruitt followed with a gap shot to right-center.

Junior right-hander Gavin Perry (4-2) worked seven innings to win his fourth consecutive start, scattering 10 hits while walking two and striking out six. Freshman left-hander Jadon Rendon and junior right-hander Mark Rios followed on the mound, then Terilli allowed a two-out RBI double to junior first baseman Lance Barnett and a walk before inducing a game-ending fielder’s choice grounder to earn his third save of the campaign.

“We had a slow start to the game, but we found a way to win,” Price said. “We made a few mental errors on defense and left too many guys on base (12), but we had a few guys step up at the plate.

“Perry did a good job on the mound for us, and I’m really proud of how Rendon, Rios and Terilli all came in from the bullpen throwing strikes.”

Barnett, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, belted a one-out solo homer in the first to stake the Aggies to a quick lead. Junior designated hitter Demetrio Archuleta tied it in the third with a run-scoring single, but Barnett singled home second baseman Gabe Clyden to put Cameron up 2-1.

Junior center fielder Tucker Gideon hit an RBI single in the top of the fourth, but Cameron’s Elijah Tolsma countered with a run-scoring hit in the bottom half. ENMU tied it again in the sixth when Cameron right fielder Donovan Borg dropped Gideon’s fly ball with two out, allowing Terilli to score.

Ponce led ENMU’s 11-hit attack, going 3-for-4, while Archuleta, senior right fielder Cooper Hamilton and junior second baseman Dylan Shea each delivered a pair of knocks.

The 6-foot-7 Durst worked 6 1/3 innings for the Aggies. Klein allowed the three eighth-inning runs and was charged with the loss.