Box Score

Season Stats

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Down 2-0 in the sixth, the third-seeded West Texas A&M baseball team outscored top-seeded and host Angelo State 5-1 over the final four innings for a gutsy 5-3 win as the Buffs advanced to their second-straight Lone Star Conference championship game and third in four years.
 
WT got standout performances from the entire team Friday as senior Joshua Payne improved to 3-0 on the year against ASU going seven innings, allowing 11 hits, three earned runs, walked one and fanned a game-high eight.  Payne improved to a team-best 10-3 on the year.  Sophomore Dominic Yearego pitched the final two innings, allowing one hit and fanned three for his fifth save of the year.   Payne now is 3-0 in three starts this season against ASU in 19.2 innings, allowing 23 hits, nine runs – eight earned, walked five and fanned 21 with a 3.66 ERA.
 
Payne set the school-record for wins in a season surpassing the previous best of nine set by a number of players, including both Payne and yesterday's winner junior Marshall Kasowski. 
 
Offensively, the Buffs banged out 12 hits senior Troy LaBrie went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while junior Luis Amaro went 2-for-4 with a RBI and senior Chad Brown, also was 2-for-4.  Amaro had two doubles, while LaBrie and Brown each hit one.
 
ASU also had 12 hits in the game as both teams committed one error as the ASU error accounted for two unearned runs.  Matt Shannon (8-4) took the loss going 6.2 innings, allowing ten hits, four runs – three earned and fanned six with no walks. 
 
WT now stands at 9-9 all-time in the Lone Star Conference Championship under head coach Matt Vanderburg.  The program is 9-14 all-time in the LSC Championship since 1994.  The Buffs won their first Lone Star Conference tournament title last season in San Angelo over Angelo State and were runner-up to Tarleton State in 2014 in Kingsville.  Vanderburg improved to 275-189 at WT in nine seasons and is 374-256 in 12 seasons of coaching.
 
The first three innings were a pitcher's duel as both Payne and Shannon dominated the hitters with both teams having just one hit through three and the duo combined for eight strikeouts with Payne recording five and Shannon with three. 
 
In the top of the fourth, a leadoff single from Jacob Boston and a double off the wall from Steven Pinales put runners on second and third.  Jay Gonzales singled up the third base line for a RBI and a sacrifice bunt from Nick Novak once again put runners at second and third.  Nathan Ruane grounded out to second for a RBI, and a 2-0 lead.  Payne got the third out on a fly out to center.  Ruane went 2-for-4 with two RBI in the game.
 
With one out in the bottom of the frame, Amaro doubled to left center.  A ground out to third followed for the second out and a ground out to short killed the inning as the Buffs left three stranded to that point. 
 
An infield single by Tyler Coolbaugh and a single to right from Mitch Henshaw put runners at the corners with one out for the Rams in the fifth for the sixth hit of the game for ASU.  Payne fanned Boston for the second out of the inning and the sixth of the game.  Payne got out of the jam with a ground out to short. 
 
Junior Bodie Bryan began the bottom of the fifth with a double down the left field line.  Sophomore Blake Weaver pinch-hit following the double.  Weaver bunted foul on the third strike for the first out.  Shannon came back with a strikeout for the second out.  A bang-bang play on a grounder to short went against WT for the third out as the Buffs came away empty once again. 
 
With one out in the bottom of the sixth, the Buffs started the comeback as LaBrie doubled off the wall in left.  Amaro hit a ground-rule double to right as Pinales fell over the short wall in right getting the Buffs on the board, trailing 2-1.  Senior John Baiada singled to right putting runners at the corners with one out.  The Buffs hit into inning-ending double play with a grounder to short.  It was the fourth double play the Buffs have hit into in the tournament. 
 
A two out, 2-2 count, single to center by junior Jimmy Cubillos tied the game at two, plating Weaver as Cubillos advanced to second on the throw.  Junior Nick Canas replaced Cubillos at second with a RBI double to left center, chasing Shannon from the game and a 3-2 WT lead.  Dustin Angiel replaced Shannon following the Canas double.  LaBrie singled to short for runners at the corners.  Amaro hit a high ball to shallow center as the wind took it a bit and went off the Pinales' glove for two runs and an error giving WT a 5-2 lead through seven innings. 
 
ASU began the top of the eighth with a double to center from Gonzales.  An infield single from Novak put two on for the Rams as Gonzales advanced to third.  Yearego relieved Payne and Novak stole second.  Ruane grounded out to short for a RBI and a 5-3 score with one out.  Yearego minimized the damage with a pop out to second and a fly out to right to end the inning. 
 
In the top of the ninth, Yearego fanned Coolbaugh for the first out and fanned Henshaw for the second.  Boston came up with a two out single through the left side, but Yearego bested Pinales for the third out and the win. 
 
WT will play the winner of the night game this evening between Angelo State and the winner of the second game today between Texas A&M-Kingsville and Cameron.  Saturday's championship game begins at 1 p.m. with the "if necessary" game to follow.
 
Check back with www.gobuffsgo.com for the latest information on who WT will play Saturday and links to live stats and streaming of the championship.