CANYON, Texas – Fresh off its opening weekend 3-0 start, the West Texas A&M baseball team heads on the road Tuesday traveling to Lubbock Christian for a 4 p.m. first pitch at Hays Field. The Buffs are 3-0 as are the Chaps entering the game.
The Buffs are coming off of three thrilling wins over the weekend as they downed Colorado Mines 6-3 on Friday, won 8-3 over #11 St. Edward's on Saturday and won 4-3 over Southwestern Oklahoma State Sunday. In all three games, the Buffs battled back from deficits and outscored the opposition 11-2 in the final three innings.
Senior
Matt Cole paced the team on the opening weekend, going 6 for 11 with one home run and four RBI. Junior
Roberto Carrasco went 3 for 9 with a double, three runs scored, one home run and four RBI, while senior
Jace Reese hit a grand slam with two out in the bottom of the seventh for the Buffs Sunday versus Southwestern Oklahoma State giving WT a 4-2 lead.
On the mound, junior
Eliot King pitched a gem of a game in relief on Sunday, going 6.2 innings of three hit baseball, allowing one walk and fanning three. Senior
Kyle Tinius picked up a win and a save on the week. The staff had a 2.33 ERA, allowing 19 hits, nine runs (seven earned), 12 walks and striking out 23 as the opposition hit .207. The Buffs hit .301 for the weekend, while the opposition hit just .207. WT had 28 hits, scoring 19 runs with five doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI. The Buffs slugged .452 and reached base at a .414 clip.
Reigning Lone Star Conference Co-Coach of the Year
Matt Vanderburg improved to 208-153 in his eighth season at WT. The 3-0 start is the sixth time since 1994 (1997, 2002, 2009, 2011, 2012) and, with a Buff win Tuesday, it'll be just the fourth time starting 4-0, which would be tied for the best start in program history.
The Buffs were picked to win the Lone Star Conference as voted on by the league's head coaches, sports information directors and select media representatives this season and were preseason No. 6 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason South Central Region Poll.
LCU leads the all-time series 35-14, but WT won both meetings last year, including a wild 21-17 win in Lubbock on Apr. 7. The win was the first in Lubbock since Apr. 2, 2002 (0-5). WT is 4-18 in Lubbock all-time. The Buffs then won in Canyon last season 6-5 on Apr. 14.
The Chaps also are 3-0 this season after sweeping Adams State in Lubbock last weekend. Lubbock Christian outscored ASU 39-17 in the three games. LCU was picked fifth in the preseason Heartland Conference Poll. St. Edward's, who WT beat last weekend, was picked to win the league, followed by St. Mary's, Arkansas-Fort Smith, Oklahoma Christian (WT plays OC Feb. 26-27 in Canyon) and LSC rounded out the top five. LCU was receiving votes in the NCBWA Preseason South Central Region Poll.
Leading the way for the Chaps this season is Hunter McFall who had five hits in 10 at bats against Adams State. He scored six runs with one double and one home run, while driving in eight. McFall slugged .900 and reached base at a .600 clip. Brandon Urquizo led the team with six hits (13 at bats) and was one of four different players to have two doubles last weekend. Antonio Reyes and Brent Stewart each drove in four runs.
As a team, LCU hit .407 with 44 hits, 39 runs scored, 15 doubles, two home runs and 36 RBI. The team slugged .602 and reached base at a .477 clip and didn't commit an error. The staff held ASU to a .250 average surrendering 44 hits, 17 earned runs, walked 15 and fanned 26. LCU had a 5.67 ERA for the series.
Following the game, WT will continue on the road this weekend as it will travel to Alva, Okla., to face both host Northwestern Oklahoma State for two games and a neutral site matchup with Northeastern State (Okla.). Vanderburg played his collegiate baseball at Northwestern Oklahoma State.
