CANYON, Texas – The No. 16 West Texas A&M baseball team continues at home as it opens the 2018 Lone Star Conference season with Eastern New Mexico for a four game series at Wilder Park this weekend.  The series gets underway at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening, followed by a doubleheader Saturday at 4 p.m. and a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
The series, sponsored by Texas Farm Bureau, fans can access links to live stats and audio/video streaming at www.gobuffsgo.com on the baseball schedule page.  James Hadnot will have the call of the games on the webstream.
 
The Buffs are coming off a split with No. 30 Angelo State as the Rams won the first and third games, while the Buffs took the second and fourth games of the series at Wilder Park last weekend.  WT is 18-7 on the year and 13-2 at home this season.  The Buffs scored 15 runs in the third inning as the team batted around twice with senior Lone Star Conference Player of the Week Luis Amaro having three at bats in the frame with a double, home run and strikeout.  Amaro hit two home runs in the game as he went 3 for 4 with three runs scored and five RBI.  For the week, he went 7 of 15 from the plate, five runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and drove in ten for his second weekly honor of the month.
 
For the series, WT hit .356 on 48 of 135, while scoring 32 runs with five doubles, three triples, four home runs and drove in 27.  The team slugged at a .526 clip, while reaching base at a .416 average with eight walks and six hit batsmen.  The Buffs had seven errors leading to six unearned runs. 
 
On the bump, both staffs struggled as WT had a 7.03 ERA and ASU had a 7.92 ERA.  WT pitched 32 innings, allowing 45 hits, 31 runs – 25 earned, walked 16 and fanned 33 as Angelo State hit .338 against it.  Junior reliever Dominic Yearego earned a win in relief as he appeared in two games for 3.1 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs and fanned five, while junior Darin Cook also earned a win in the finale going five innings, allowing seven hits, four earned runs, walked none and fanned a team-high seven.
 
Eastern New Mexico enters with a 14-6 record after taking three-of-four at UT Permian Basin last week.  The Greyhounds are 7-1 on the road and 6-0 in neutral site matchups, while going just 1-5 at home this season.  ENMU is hitting .332 on the year with 200 hits in 603 at bats, while scoring 184 runs with 45 doubles, nine triples, 26 home runs and driven in 171.  The Greyhounds are 101 of 111 in stolen bases, have walked 130 times with 128 strikeouts and 31 hit batsmen.
Alex DeLaCruz leads the team with a .400 average in two starts as he is 28 of 70 with a team-high 26 runs scored, 10 doubles, one triple and three home runs.  He has driven in 19, while walking 20 times, and is a perfect 18 of 18 in stolen bases.  Julian Heredia is second in average at a .393 clip as he is 24 of 61 from the dish with 24 runs scored, three doubles, one triple and four home runs.  He has driven in a team-high 27 and is 9 of 10 in stolen bases.  In all, eight Greyhounds are hitting over .300 for the season as Chris Padilla (.308) leads the team with seven home runs on the year, while Endy Villalona (.333) is leading the team in stolen bases at 29 of 31. 
 
On the mound, the Greyhounds boast a 3.60 ERA in 20 games and 155 innings pitched.  Teams are hitting .216 against the Greyhounds on 128 of 592, while scoring 87 runs with 28 doubles, four triples, five home runs and are 37 of 46 in stolen bases.  Three different Greyhounds have three wins each as Jonathan Joy leads the team with a 1.25 ERA in four appearances and three starts.  He has pitched 21.2 innings, allowing 20 hits, five runs – three earned, walked four and fanned 19.  Cesar Capellan is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in five starts with three complete games in a team-high 32.2 innings.  He has allowed 23 hits, 14 runs – nine earned, walked 18 and fanned a team-high 35.  Keenan Dodd is 3-1 with a 2.66 ERA in five starts with two complete games and one shutout.  He has pitched 23.2 innings, allowing 14 hits, 10 runs – seven earned, walked 13 and fanned 25. Levi Shandrew and Elijah Cappello each have a save for the Greyhounds this season.
 
The Greyhounds are under the direction of head coach David Gomez who is in his fifth season at the helm of the program.  Gomez is 98-118 at ENMU and is 5-20 against WT during his time in Portales, N.M. 
 
WT leads the all-time series with ENMU 60-53, has won the last two in the series and 10 of 12.  ENMU has not played in Canyon since 2016 as the Buffs swept the series there and the Buffs have gone 8-2 at home since 2014. 
 
The Buffs are under the direction of tenth year head coach Matt Vanderburg who is 295-198 at WT and 394-265 in 13 seasons of coaching. He is 31-12 against Eastern New Mexico while at WT.  Vanderburg is the winningest coach all-time in program history and is just five wins from 300 at WT and six wins from 400 overall. 
 
For the season, the Buffs are hitting .316 on 254 of 804 from the plate, while driving in 198 runs with 56 doubles, nine triples, 18 home runs and driven in 172.  The team is slugging .475 and reaching base at a .419 clip.  The Buffs are 24 of 33 in stolen bases, have committed 32 errors leading to 26 unearned runs. 
 
At the dish, the Buffs are led by junior Tag Baxter with a .465 average in 17 games played.  He has 20 hits, 13 runs scored, five doubles, one home run and driven in 14.  Baxter is slugging .651 with a .564 on base percentage with nine walks, two hit batsmen and seven strikeouts.  Senior Nick Canas (.348) leads the team with 31 hits, while scoring 19 runs, seven doubles, three triples, two home runs and driven in 20.  Junior Christian Loya is hitting .344 with 22 hits, 14 runs scored, four doubles, two triples, three home runs and 11 RBI.  Amaro leads the team with 28 runs scored, along with 26 hits, a team-high 10 doubles and five home runs, while driving in a team-high 31.  Amaro is slugging .630, while reaching base at a .496 clip.  He has walked a team-high 29 times. 
 
On the mound, the Buffs have a 4.50 ERA in 204 innings, with one complete game and two shutouts.  The Buffs have allowed 198 hits, 128 runs – 102 earned runs, walked 103 and fanned 243 as teams are hitting .253 against them.  Yearego is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings and five appearances.  He has two saves and fanned 17, while walking just one.  Among starters, junior Joe Corbett and Cook are 4-1 and each have a 3.86 ERA.  Corbett leads the team with 50 strikeouts in 37.1 innings of work as he has allowed 30 hits, 16 earned runs and walked nine.  Cook has pitched 35 innings, allowing 31 hits, 18 runs – 15 earned, walked 13 and fanned 46.  Senior Ryan Larison is 3-0 with a 4.41 ERA in seven starts, logging 34.2 innings, allowing 34 hits, 24 runs – 17 earned, walked 16 and fanned 39.  Along with Yearego, junior Braden Baker also has two saves.
 
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