KINGSVILLE, Texas – Behind seven strong innings and ten strikeouts from junior Marshall Kasowski, the No. 21 West Texas A&M baseball team opened a key Lone Star Conference baseball series at No. 21 Texas A&M-Kingsville with a 4-2 win Friday evening at Nolan Ryan Field.  The Buffs won their 30^th game of the season, improving to 30-11 overall and 11-4 in LSC play, while TAMUK fell to 29-11 and 14-3 in league play.

Kasowski entered the game four strikeouts shy of the school-record set by former Buff Dylan James in 2014 with 126.  Kasowski fanned Jimmy Roche to begin the fourth inning for the tying strikeout and then bested Dax McCleary with one out in the fifth for the record-breaking strikeout.  Kasowski entered the series leading the nation with 122 strikeouts and an average of over 16 strikeouts per nine innings.  He now has 132 strikeouts for his career.

WT jumped on the board in the first inning as junior Nick Canas hit a one out triple and scored on a ground out by senior Troy LaBrie.  TAMUK evened the score in the bottom of the second, following singles from Pablo Hernandez and Alex Gonzalez, Gonzalez inched to second where he got in a run down, allowing Hernandez to score for a 1-1 game.

The Buffs regained the lead in the fourth as senior Chad Brown opened the frame with a home run down the left field line for a 2-1 lead.  TAMUK returned the favor in the bottom of the inning as Christian Caudle homered for a 2-2 score.

In the seventh, senior Aaron Vallance began the inning with a walk and junior Jimmy Cubillos singled to center.  Canas came up big once again as he doubled home two runs to left center for a 4-2 score.   WT left two on in the inning, but Kasowski retired the Javelinas in order in the bottom of the seventh for his final frame.

WT stranded two more in the eighth, but WT sophomore Dominic Yearego fanned the Javelinas in order in the eighth and recorded four strikeouts in his two innings of work for his second save of the season.  He did not allow a hit or walk in the six batters he faced.  Kasowski improved to 8-3 on the year in seven innings of work, allowing five hits, two earned runs, walked two and fanned ten.  It was his eighth game this season of double-digit strikeouts.

The Buffs had four runs on nine hits with no errors and were led by Canas who was 2 for 4 with a run scored and two RBI.  Junior Bodie Bryan, who had just five hits in his last 11 games, went 2 for 3 in the game Friday evening, while Cubillos was 2 for 4 with a run scored. 

TAMUK's Seth Hubert (7-2) took the loss in six innings, allowing eight hits, four earned runs, walked three and fanned one.  Five different Javelinas each had a hit in the contest as Caudle was 1 for 3 with a run scored and a RBI on the round-tripper.

WT head coach Matt Vanderburg record the program's fifth-straight 30-win season under his watch as he improved to 271-184 in his nine seasons at WT and 370-251 overall in 12 seasons of coaching.  Prior to Vanderburg's arrival, the Buffs had never won 30 or more games in back-to-back seasons. He has won 30 or more games in six of his nine seasons at WT.

The Buffs now have won seven-straight in the series dating back to last season and all five meetings this season, while the win Friday snapped TAMUK's nine-game winning streak.

The Buffs and the Javelinas are scheduled for a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. at Nolan Ryan Field.  Fans can access live stats and streaming of the game at www.gobuffsgo.com on the baseball schedule page.