CANYON, Texas – Senior Joshua Payne struck out 16 batters in a two-hit complete game shutout as the #15 Buffs of West Texas A&M defeated #10 Texas A&M Kingsville 7-0 on a cold, dreary Saturday afternoon at Wilder Park. The Buffs improve to 14-2 on the season while the Javelinas fall to 11-2 overall.
The Buffs and Javelinas conclude the weekend series tomorrow at afternoon with first pitch of a doubleheader set for 1 p.m. at Wilder Park in Canyon.
Payne found his groove early on as he needed just 10 pitches to strike out the side. The senior picked up two more strikeouts in the second bringing histotal to five. The Buffs opened the scoring in the bottom of the inning after Chad Brown led the inning with a walk. After John Baiada advanced Brown on a sac bunt down the third base line, Blake Weaver followed that up with a single to right field. Aaron Vallance and Jimmy Cubillos both walked to load the bases with one out. Nick Canas continues to see the ball well as the junior singled up the middle to plate two runs. Cubillos came around to score on a failed pick-off attempt from TAMUK's Seth Hubert while Canas advanced to third. Adam Adkins proceeded to double down the left field giving the Buffs a 5-0 lead after two complete at Wlder Park.
Payne continued to dominate the Javelinas as he struck out the first two batters of the top of the third before giving up his second hit of the game to Joshua Croft. The West Haven, Utah native made sure Croft stayed at second as he struck out Christian Caudle to end the threat.
Payne picked up his ninth and 10th strikeouts of the game in the top of the fifth after fanning the first two Javelinas. The Buffs added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh capitalizing on TAMUK miscues. Adkins picked up his second RBI of the game when Vallance came around to score on a fielder's choice to third base. Canas crossed the plate to make it 7-0 after Alex Gonzalez's error at shortstop.
Payne continued to roll through the Javelina lineup picking up a strikeout in the eighth before picking up two more in the top of the ninth to bring his total to 16. That is tied with the most strikeouts by a Buff this season.
