CANYON, Texas – Riding a five-game winning streak, the No. 10/12 West Texas A&M baseball team continues its road trip with a three-game series at New Mexico Highlands this weekend. The Buffs are 7-2 on the year, while NMHU is 4-3.
Due to potential for inclement weather in the Las Vegas, N.M., area this weekend, the format for the series has changed slightly. The Buffs now will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 12 p.m. (CT) and a single game Saturday at 12 p.m. (CT). Links to live stats can be found on the WT baseball schedule page at
www.gobuffsgo.com.
The Buffs are No. 10 nationally in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 and ranked second in this week's NCBWA South Central Region poll. WT is 12
th nationally this week in the Collegiate Baseball News Poll.
WT is coming off of five wins this past week with a 9-8, 10-inning victory at Southwestern Oklahoma a week ago Tuesday and a three-game sweep of Oklahoma Christian and a neutral site win over Dakota State also at Oklahoma Christian.
For the week, the offense really came alive for the Buffs as the team hit .384 with 11 doubles, one triple and four home runs on 68 hits and scored 53 runs. WT slugged .525 and reached base at a .446 clip. The Buffs cut down on the errors with four leading to just three unearned runs. In the first four games of the season, WT hit just .214 going 2-2.
Defensively, this past week WT carried a 2.70 ERA as the staff allowed 15 runs with 12 earned runs over 40 innings with 36 hits allowed and 14 walks, while fanning 44. The opposition hit just .245 for the week.
WT senior
Dylan Dyson hit 9 of 13 for the week for a .692 clip and earned LSC Player of the Week honors going 8 of 10 in the weekend series at Oklahoma Christian and against Dakota State. Dyson had one double and four RBI for the whole week and scored a team-high seven runs, while slugging .769 and reaching base at a .733 clip. He had 22 put outs in 23 chances with one assist. A total of 12 Buffs hit .300 or better for the week.
For the season, junior
Matt Cole leads the team with a .458 batting average in seven starts. He is 11 of 24 with two doubles, one home run and seven driven in, while scoring seven times. Cole is slugging .667 and reaching base at a .519 clip. He has two put outs and 13 assists in 15 chances at the hot corner. Dyson is third in average at .409 clip with nine hits in 22 at bats as he is tied for the team-lead in runs scored with eight. Junior
Mason Shiflett leads the team with 10 RBI, while junior
Jace Reese has a team-high 12 hits.
As a team, the Buffs are hitting .314 for the year with 94 hits in 299 at bats, along with 17 doubles, two triples and five home runs. WT has driven in 66 and scored 69 runs, while slugging .435 and reaching base at a .385 clip. The Buffs are 9 of 13 in stolen bases and have a .961 fielding percentage with 12 errors leading to six unearned runs.
On the mound, senior
Justin Disbro has a 0.79 ERA in two starts with one complete game and one shutout, while working 11.1 innings. He is 1-0 on the year and has allowed eight hits, three runs – one earned, one walk and fanned 10. Senior
Tyler Gibson leads the team in innings pitched at 16.0 as he is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in three appearances with two starts. Gibson has allowed 11 hits, four runs – three earned with three walks and he leads the team with 18 strikeouts. The opposition is hitting just .196 against him. Senior
Kyle Olason leads the team with a 2-1 record in three appearances and two starts, while senior
Sean Michel leads the team with two saves.
As a staff, WT has a 3.17 ERA in 71 innings of work. WT has allowed 65 hits, with 31 runs (25 earned), while walking 27 and striking out 77. Teams are hitting just .243 against the Buffs.
New Mexico Highlands has hit the cover off the ball so far this season as the Cowboys are hitting .385 for the year with 92 hits in 239 at bats. NMHU has 21 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs and has driven in 77, while scoring 85 runs. The Cowboys have scored double-digit runs in all but one game thus far and took one of three from Lubbock Christian and three of four from LSC foe Eastern New Mexico.
Reigning NCBWA South Central Region Player of the Week, Matthew Chavez, leads the Cowboys as he is hitting .556 so far in seven games. He is 15 of 27 with a team-high 13 runs scored, three doubles, one triple, two home runs and 12 RBI, while going 3 for 3 in stolen bases. EJ Stanton is hitting .533 with eight hits and seven runs scored, while Colby Wilmer is hitting .500 with 10 hits and 10 RBI. Omar Garcia (.444) leads the team with 15 RBI and is second in hits with 12.
Just as prolific as the Cowboys have been offensively, they have struggled on the mound with a team ERA of 12.26. In 54.1 innings, NMHU has allowed 103 hits, 86 runs – 74 earned, while walking 31 and striking out 50. NMHU has three saves on the season. Teams are hitting .399 against NMHU thus far.
Curtis Hynes leads the team with a 2-0 record and has a 10.45 ERA in two starts. He has pitched a team-high 10.1 innings, allowing 20 hits, 13 runs – 12 earned, along with four walks and seven strikeouts.
The Cowboys were picked to tie for first in the Plains Division of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with Colorado State-Pueblo. Overall in the RMAC poll, NMHU was picked tied for second with CSUP behind Colorado Mesa. NMHU had three players named to the preseason All-RMAC team including Chavez, catcher Morgan McCasland and outfielder Andrew Ratterman.
The Buffs lead the all-time series with NMHU 18-12. WT swept a three-game set last season in Canyon in the first meeting between the two teams since 2005. Both teams made the NCAA South Central Regional last season, but didn't face each other. The series is tied 3-3 in Las Veags, while WT leads 13-7 in Canyon and the series is tied 2-2 in neutral sites. WT outscored NMHU 23-6 in the three meetings last season (Feb. 21-22, 2014).
Following the New Mexico Highlands series, WT begins LSC play the following week at preseason LSC favorite Texas A&M-Kingsville in a four game series Feb. 27-Mar. 1.
