CANYON, Texas – The No. 3-ranked West Texas A&M baseball team, fresh off a split at then-No. 8 Angelo State, opens the 2017 Lone Star Conference season at Eastern New Mexico this weekend in a four-game series.  The Buffs are 18-4 on the year, while ENMU is 21-5 on the year and winners of six-straight. 

The series is scheduled for a single game Friday at 8 p.m. CT, followed by a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. CT and a single game Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.  Fans can access links to live stats and streaming on the baseball schedule page at www.gobuffsgo.com.

The Buffs earned a split at Angelo State last weekend, dropping the first two games and battling back for wins in the final two, including a thrilling 8-6 win in the finale after trailing midway through the game 5-2 on Sunday.  Despite scoring a season-low 13 runs for the series, the Buffs hung tough and pulled out the split with strong pitching and some timely hitting.  WT hit just .256 for the series on 32 of 125 from the plate with eight doubles, one home run and drove in 13, while scoring 13 runs.  WT slugged .344 and reached base at a .316 clip.  The Buffs committed just two errors in the series for a .985 fielding percentage. 

WT senior John Baiada led the way at the dish going four of nine with two runs scored and a team-best .444 average.  Junior Jimmy Cubillos hit .429 with three hits in seven at bats, plating two and scoring once.  Junior Nick Canas led the team with five hits in 16 at bats, scoring once and driving in one, along with a double.  Senior Troy LaBrie paced the team with three doubles on four hits with a run scored.  Junior Bodie Bryan had a big week as he hit the only WT home run of the series in the final to put WT up 2-0 in the third inning and then responded with a two RBI double to left in the top of the eighth tying the game as the Buffs eventually won 8-6.

Reigning National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) South Central Region and National Pitcher of the Week, senior Joshua Payne, had another outstanding week as he pitched 6.1 innings in a 3-1 win in game three of the series last weekend at Angelo State.  Payne allowed three hits, one earned run, walked two and fanned seven as the Rams hit just .143 against him.  Junior Tate Huebner picked up the final win in relief going two innings, allowing four hits, one earned run, no walks and fanned two.  Senior Justin McAllister earned a save in the finale, while pitching in two games in the series.  Junior starter Marshall Kasowski also earned a save in the series.

The Buffs had a 6.90 ERA for the series in 30 innings, allowing 37 hits, 23 earned runs, walked 19 and fanned 27 as ASU hit .327 against the staff.  Kasowski and junior Ryan Larison each took losses in the first two games.  Kasowski did continue his strong play, however, with six strikeouts and did not allow a hit.

For the split, WT moved into a tie for third in the NCBWA Top 25 as the Buffs garnered 326 points this week, sit tied with Mount Olive (N.C.)  Both teams had one of 15 first-place votes.  Angelo State fell to 11^th, while St. Edward's is tied for 19^th this week and Lubbock Christian is tied for 25^th.  Colorado Mesa is among others receiving votes.  WT leads the NCBWA South Central Region Top 10 for the second-straight week as the Buffs tallied six, first-place votes and 85 points following the split.  Angelo State remained second in the poll with the remaining three first-place nods and 82 points.  St. Edward's is third, followed by Lubbock Christian, and Colorado Mesa rounds out the top five for the second week in a row. 

Cameron jumped from ninth to sixth, following a 3-1 series win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.  Eastern New Mexico moves up from eighth to seventh, while Tarleton State drops from seventh to eight and Texas A&M-Kingsville moves from sixth to ninth.  Regis, who was receiving votes last week, enters the poll at 10^th.  St. Mary's and Colorado Mines are receiving votes this week.

WT has gone 9-3 in its last 12 games against arguably the top three teams in the Lone Star Conference in non-conference play, with a 3-1 series win at then-No. 15 Tarleton State, a 4-0 series sweep of then-No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville and the split last weekend at then-No. 8 Angelo State according to the NCBWA Top 25 rankings.  ASU was picked to win the Lone Star Conference, while Tarleton State was picked fourth and Texas A&M-Kingsville was selected second by the league's coaches, sports information directors and select regional media.  WT was picked third in the preseason LSC poll.

In the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 25, the Buffs are 17^th this week, while Angelo State fell from second to tenth.  Colorado Mesa is 25^th, while Lubbock Christian and Tarleton State are receiving votes.  In the D2Baseball.com poll, WT moved up one spot from 16^th to 15^th, while Angelo State fell from fourth to sixth and Colorado Mesa remained ninth for the second-straight week, as Lubbock Christian also remained the same at 23^rd.  Angelo State leads the D2Baseball.com South Central Top Five, followed by Colorado Mesa, WT, Lubbock Christian and Cameron makes its first appearance in the top five.

For the season, the Buffs are hitting .351 on the year, which ranks seventh nationally and leads the Lone Star Conference.  WT has 257 hits (40^th, second LSC), in 732 at bats as ENMU leads the league in hits with 302.  The Buffs have scored 210 runs ranking 19^th nationally and second to Eastern New Mexico in the LSC (257).  WT has 69 doubles on the year, ranking fifth nationally and leads the league, while recording 11 triples, which is good for 13^th nationally and second in the conference, along with 19 home runs, which ranks third in the league.  WT has driven in 192 and is slugging .553, which ranks 11^th nationally and first in the league and has an on-base percentage of .428 which is 16^th nationally and third in the conference behind ENMU's .452 clip.  The Buffs are 19 of 26 in stolen bases, and have committed just 19 errors for a .973, ranking 17^th nationally and first in the LSC.  The 19 errors have led to 14 unearned runs.  WT is 19^th nationally in sacrifice flies with 14.

WT is led by, Cubillos, who leads the team with a .431 average and scored 31 runs.  He has 28 hits, which ranks fourth on the team, while recording six doubles, two triples and driving in 12.  Cubillos is slugging .585 and reaching base at a team-best .542 clip (46^th nationally, third LSC) with 14 walks and one strikeout on the year, ranking 11^th nationally in toughest to strikeout.  He is 4-for-4 in stolen bases and has 17 putouts in 19 attempts with no errors.  Canas is hitting .431 in 21 games as he has hit and reached base safely in 18-straight games.  Canas has a team-high 31 hits in 72 at bats with 21 runs scored, six doubles, three triples, two home runs and driven in 19.  He is slugging .681, which ranks second on the team, while reaching base at a .463 clip.  Junior Adam Adkins is third in average at a .390 clip, while recording 30 hits with 25 runs, 11 doubles, three triples and two home runs.  Adkins has 26 RBI, which ranks second on the team, while slugging .688 to lead the team.  Both Adkins and Canas are fourth and fifth, respectively, in the LSC in slugging percentage and tied for 25^th nationally in triples.  Adkins is reaching base at a .444 clip and has 20 putouts with no errors.  Junior Luis Amaro is third in hits with 29, while recording eight doubles, two home runs, and driven in a team-high 33, which is 16^th nationally and second in the LSC.  LaBrie leads the team with 12 doubles, ranking seventh nationally and first in the league, and three home runs as he is hitting .333 on the year.

On the mound, the Buffs have a 2.84 ERA, which leads the LSC and ranks 11^th nationally.  WT has five shutouts and two combined shutouts, along with six saves and pitched 174.0 innings.  The five shutouts are good for fourth nationally to lead the league.  The Buffs have allowed 149 hits, 69 runs – 55 earned runs, walked 65 and fanned 226 as the Buffs lead the nation in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.7.  Teams are hitting just .230 against WT this season and the opposition has a 9.29 ERA in 167.2 innings.  WT is 14^th nationally and second in the LSC in WHIP at 1.23, as ENMU leads the league at 1.12.  The Buffs are eighth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio at a 3.42 clip to lead the league.  WT is 12^th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings at a 7.66 clip, ranking second to ENMU in the league as the Greyhounds allow 6.41 hits per nine innings. 

Eastern New Mexico has been a surprise this season as the Greyhounds are 21-5 on the year and are coming off a sweep of UT Permian Basin last weekend.  ENMU, who finished the 2016 season with a 10-40 record, has one of the most prolific offenses in the country in 2017.  The Greyhounds rank in the top-10 nationally in in walks (seventh), average (eighth), hits allowed/9.0 IP (first), on-base percentage (third), runs (third), scoring (sixth), strikeouts/9.0 IP (second), and WHIP (fifth). As a team, ENMU is averaging 9.9 runs/game and hitting at a .349 clip. The 2017 ENMU pitching staff has already recorded the third-most shutouts in team history and needs just two more to match the most in the program.  The 21 wins so far mark the most since the team finished 26-24 in 2014.

Infielders Alex DeLaCruz and Endy Villalona have been on a tear these past three weeks, with each registering a 10+ game hitting streak. DeLaCruz is on an 11-game run and has 15 multi-hit games. Villalona boasts the teams' longest streak of reaching base safely at 15 games. Outfielder Michael McNicholl has been a major contributor at the dish, driving home a LSC-leading 43 runs, including 10 games of driving in multiple runs.

ENMU is hitting .350 on the year, which is good for second in the league behind WT.  The Greyhounds are 303 of 866 from the dish, while scoring 257 runs and allowing just 86.  ENMU has 58 doubles, five triples, 26 home runs and driven in 231, while slugging .518 and reaching base at a .453 clip.  ENMU is 41 of 53 in stolen bases and has 30 errors for a .964 fielding percentage. 

DeLaCruz leads the team with 46 hits and a .479 average, which leads the league.  He has a team-high 11 doubles with one triple and four home runs with 25 RBI.  DeLaCruz is slugging .740 to lead the team and reaching base at a .537 clip, while going nine of 12 in stolen bases.  Andrew Stubbs is second in average at .444, while McNicholl is third at .410 as he is third in hits (34), while leading the team in home runs with six.  Villalona is fourth in average at .394 with 36 runs scored, 37 hits, five doubles, one triple and one home run, while driving in 27.   He is a perfect eight for eight in stolen bases, while Malcom Smith leads the team with 14 thefts in 16 chances to lead the league and ranks 16^th nationally. 

On the hill, ENMU has a 3.50 ERA in 198 innings, allowing 140 hits, 86 runs – 77 earned, walked 81 and fanned 247 as teams are hitting just .190 against the Greyhounds.  Scott Klein and Keenan Dodd each have a 4-1 record, while Dodd leads the team with a 2.08 ERA in 26 innings, allowing 17 hits, six earned runs, walked five and fanned 38.  Klein has a 4.08 ERA in 28.2 innings, allowing 16 hits, 13 earned runs, walked 16 and fanned a team-high 43 as teams are hitting just .155 against him.

The Buffs lead the all-time series with ENMU 57-52.  WT has won the last seven in the series, dating back to a 10-7 victory in Portales last March.  ENMU leads all-time in Portales, 28-22, but WT swept the series in Portales in 2016.  The Buffs are 34-23 at home and the teams have split two neutral site matchups. 

WT head coach Matt Vanderburg is 259-177 in his ninth year at the helm of the Buffs as he is the all-time time leader in wins in WT history.  He is 358-244 in his 12^th season overall of collegiate coaching.  Vanderburg is 28-12 all-time against Eastern New Mexico since his arrival in Canyon in 2009.  

ENMU head coach David Gomez is in his fourth season at the helm of the Greyhounds and is 73-99 there.  He is 4-17 against WT with his last win being Apr. 11, 2015, in a 9-2 decision in Portales for his lone-home win.