Box ScoreCANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M baseball team opened the 2015 season with 6-5 victory over visiting Southwestern Oklahoma State Sunday afternoon in a doubleheader at Wilder Park. WT scored the first six runs of the game, but fought off a furious Bulldog rally in the final two innings to earn the victory.
WT tallied six runs on seven hits with two errors, while SWOSU had five runs on eight hits with two errors. WT senior
Jacob Caples went 2 for 3 with two runs scored, one RBI and two doubles, while junior
Mason Shiflett went 2 for 3 with one run scored and two RBI. Senior
Kyle Olason (1-0) went 5.1 innings, allowing four hits, four earned runs while fanning six and walking four. It was Olason's first career start and his six strikeouts also were a career-best. Senior
Sean Michel earned his first career save.
SWOSU was led by Jacob Spring with two hits in four at bats, while Mason Marshall went 1 for 3 with two RBI. Connor Garcia (0-1) went 4.1 innings, allowing four hits, four runs – two earned and three walks.
Two errors proved costly for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the first as the Buffs sat down SWOSU in order in the top of the frame. Junior
Trace Hansen reached on an error with one out and advanced to second on a balk. Caples doubled to left center, plating Hansen for a 1-0 lead. Senior
Dylan Dyson reached on the second miscue of the frame. Shiflett singled to right scoring Caples for a 2-0 lead.
Olason got into some trouble in the top of the second as SWOSU loaded the bases with one out. A nice throw to home from junior third baseman
Scott Cooper got the second out and Olason tallied his second strikeout to get out of the bases loaded jam.
In the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs had a good chance with the Buffs' second miscue of the game, but Olason and the Buffs were up to the task. A single by Nolan Barriento kept the inning alive as Haden Houska, who reached on the error, advanced to second. Houska was then picked off by Olason for the second out and he then fanned Greg Bruno to end the frame and Olason's fourth K of the game.
WT plated four runs in the bottom of the fifth as all nine batters came to the plate with the Buffs scoring four runs on four hits. Caples belted his second double of the game to get things started with one out. Following a pitching change for the Bulldogs, junior
Jace Reese singled to load the bases. Shiflett singled through the left side for a 3-0 lead. An infield RBI single from senior
Justin Hargrove followed and a walk scored the fifth run. Cooper grounded out to short for the sixth run and fourth of the inning.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the top of the sixth as they loaded the bases with two singles and a walk with one out. A bases loaded walk scored the run. Following a pitching change in favor of sophomore
Jamie Boyd, Mason Marshall hit a two RBI single up the middle for a 6-3 deficit. Dalton Daniels grounded out to second plating the fourth run for SWOSU. A big strikeout looking ended the frame keeping the game 6-4 in favor of the Buffs heading to the bottom of the sixth.
SWOSU began the top of the seventh with a pair of singles with nobody out off senior Michel. Michel got a fly out to right and almost got a second out on a bang-bang play at third as Christian Perez looked to have over shot the bag, but was called safe. Houska then doubled to left plating one run for a 6-5 score. Michel recorded a strikeout for the second out of the frame and got a groundout to second to end the game.
