Box ScoreSeason StatsCANYON, Texas – In a another tightly contested game, the West Texas A&M baseball team took the nightcap of a doubleheader against visiting Southwestern Oklahoma State Sunday evening, 4-3. With the win, the Buffs improved to 2-0 on the season, while SWOSU fell to 0-2. WT won the opener 6-5.
WT tallied four runs on seven hits with two errors, while the Bulldogs had three runs on seven hits and three errors. WT was led by three players with two hits each. Junior
Jace Reese was 2 for 3 with a run scored and a RBI, while senior
Aaron Blair was 2 for 2 with a RBI.
Junior
Tyler Almager (1-0) picked up the win in relief of senior starter
Justin Disbro. Senior
Tyler Gibson earned his first save as a Buff. SWOSU starter Jon Chidester (0-1) took the loss in five innings of work, allowing seven hits, four unearned runs, two walks and four strikeouts. Disbro went 4.1 innings, surrendering five hits, three runs – one earned and he fanned four.
The Buffs broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the third as junior
Matt Cole began the inning with a single, followed by a single from senior
Ryan March. Junior
Trace Hansen put down a sacrifice bunt, but the ball got away from starting pitcher Chidester putting two on and scoring Cole. WT added another run on a ground out from senior
Dylan Dyson for a 2-0 lead. Reese tripled home the third run of the inning and a 3-0 lead.
An error and a single put runners at the corners with nobody out for the Bulldogs in the fourth. A pair of strikeouts from Disbro followed. An error, the second of the inning, scored SWOSU's first run with two outs. Bryan Holt singled up the middle plating the second run of the inning.
Two singles and a sacrifice bunt put runners at the corners for SWOSU in the fifth. WT made a call to the bullpen in favor of Almager. A walk loaded the bases for the Bulldogs. Korbin Polston tied the game with a single to left for a 3-3 score. Almager got a force at home for the second out and fanned the next batter to get out of the inning leaving the bases loaded.
With two outs, the Buffs got a single to left from Reese and junior
Mason Shiflett reached on an error for runners at the corners. After a mound meeting, WT senior
Aaron Blair doubled down the right field line breaking the tie for a 4-3 lead.
Two quick outs, including a great running catch from Reese highlighted a three-up-three-down top of the sixth for the Bulldogs. WT was retired in order in the sixth. The Buffs brought in Gibson for the seventh inning as he transferred to WT this season from the University of New Mexico. Gibson fanned Dalton Daniels for the first out of the inning. A hit batsman followed for a runner at first and a fly out to center for the second out. Polston hit an infield single for two on with two out. Down to their last strike and a 3-2 count, Nolan Barrientos struck out looking to end the game and the WT sweep of the doubleheader.
The Buffs now head to the QuickTrip Division II Classic in Grand Prairie, Texas, Thursday at 10 a.m. against Arkansas-Monticello. WT then will face No. 10 Southern Arkansas Friday at 10 a.m. in the tournament. Live stats and streaming links for the tournament can be found on
www.gobuffsgo.com.
