Box Score CANYON, Texas – Senior
Jacob Caples of the West Texas A&M baseball team hit a two-run bomb in the bottom of the eighth inning on Friday night at Wilder Park to lift the Buffs to an 8-6 come-from-behind win over Eastern New Mexico. The Buffs' now improve to 10-7 and 2-3 in Lone Star Conference play as they take the first of a four-game weekend series with the Greyhounds. ENMU now falls to 4-8 in its conference opener.
WT finished the night with nine hits to the Greyhounds' five. Each team would record four errors.
The Greyhounds jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning inside Wilder Park on Friday night. They would do so all unearned with a pair of outs as the top of the inning was kept alive after an infield error by the Buffs. With runners on first and second, Justin Paul stepped up to the plate and cranked a three-run bomb.
Tyler Gibson would strike Mark Foley out swinging two batters later for the third out.
Caples would start off the Buffs at the bottom of first with an RBI double to right field, advancing
Jace Reese to third and scoring
Trace Hansen.
Matt Cole would then cut the Buffs' deficit to one as he grounded out to second, bringing Reese in.
The Buffs jumped on top in the second with another two-run inning.
Justin Hargrove walked with one out to begin the inning but would quickly advance two bases on a wild pitch
Ryan March at the plate. Hansen stepped up quickly his next chance up, blasting a triple to right center to score the two runs and give WT the 4-3 lead.
A couple of Buffalo errors in the top of the fifth would then allow the visitors to knot the score at 4-4. ENMU continued to threaten with two runners on but Gibson found his seventh strikeout of the game to end the frame.
The Greyhounds would come close to taking the lead in the sixth inning after another WT error allowed a second runner on base with two outs. But Charles Sandberg, Jr. grounded out to
Matt Cole at third, who made a nice play off a tricky bounce infield to throw him out for the third out.
But in the bottom of the inning
Josh Day would give WT the lead again, 5-4, with a single up the middle to score Hansen. That would force another pitching change as Zach Shank was pulled after 4.0 innings , giving up three hits and run one, striking out three. On to the mound would come James Gray to finish the frame. However, another two runs would follow in the top of the seventh as the Greyhounds retook the 6-5 advantage. That would end Gibson's night on the mound. He finished the night after giving up six runs on four hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings.
The Buffs stormed back to tally three in the bottom of the eighth. Reese would drive in the first with a single before Caples sailed a pitch over the left center wall. His bomb would score two for WT giving the Buffs the two-run lead.
Paul Lujan would then come in for the top of the ninth to preserve the win and earn his second save of the season.
Kyle Tinius would earn his first win of the season in one inning on the mound, allowing just one hit. Gray suffered the loss for ENMU as he pitched 2.2 innings, giving up three runs on two hits with two strikeouts.
Caples finished the night with three RBI thanks to two hits and one run scored. Hansen, Day and Cole would also tally multiple hits.
WT will be back in action for games two and three in doubleheader action tomorrow. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Wilder Park.
