CANYON, Texas – The #2 Buffaloes of West Texas A&M split a Saturday afternoon South Central Region doubleheader at Dickson Stadium in San Antonio, Texas as they used the long ball in the opener before falling late in the nightcap to the St. Mary's Rattlers.
 
The Buffs and Rattlers conclude their weekend series on Sunday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. at Dickson Stadium in San Antonio.
 
THE BASICS:
- Game 1 Score: #2 West Texas A&M 13, St. Mary's 4
- Game 2 Score: St. Mary's 11, #2 West Texas A&M 6
- Records: WT (13-2) / StMU (8-6)
- Location: San Antonio, Texas
- Venue: Dickson Stadium
- Series (Streak): Series tied 3-3 (L1)
 
HOW IT HAPPENENED (GAME ONE):
The Buffs got on the board first in the top of the third inning as Darius Carter reached on an error to start the frame followed by a wild pitch before Justice Nakagawa doubled to left to score Carter for the early 1-0 lead, Keone Givens layed down bunt single before Jake Pederson ripped an RBI single to thru the right side to make it 2-0. 
 
WT wasn't done yet as Clay Koelzer ran his hitting streak to 14 games with a three-run bomb followed by a Kyle Kaufman base hit and a wild pitch before Tag Baxter was plunked by a pitch to put runners on first and third with one out, Jaxxon Fagg drew a walk to load the bases followed by hits from Nick Guaragna and Nakagawa to add to the WT lead at 8-0. Baxter added to the WT lead in the top of the fourth inning as the senior crushed a three-run bomb to left center with one out to extend the lead to 11-0. 
 
The Rattlers got on the board in the home half of the fifth inning as Ragan Forrest drew an RBI walk with the bases loaded and one out followed by a Mario Vela infield single at 11-2, Ryan McGowen singled thru the left side to drive in two more as the Buffs made a move to the bullpen, Braden Baker entered and the senior shut down the rally with two big outs to leave the score at 11-4.
 
WT added to their lead in the top of the seventh inning as Tanner Schuetz connected on a leadoff solo homerun to left field followed later in the inning by a Pederson RBI single up the middle to make it 13-4. Austin Gehle finished up the game on the mound for the Buffs as the senior allowed two hits before registering three straight outs in the victory.
 
Drew Mesecher picked up the win (2-1) for the Buffs, allowing four runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts in his 4.1 innings of work.
 
HOW IT HAPPENENED (GAME TWO):
The Buffs started off the scoring in the top of the second inning as Guaragna singled home Justin Martinez with two outs for the early 1-0 lead, St. Mary's tied the game in the home half of the third as Keaton Milford drew a bases loaded walk with one out followed by an RBI fielder's choice and a Johnny Hernandez base hit to make it 3-1 before Cooper Harris entered from the bullpen and forced a line drive to short to end the frame.
 
WT cut into the lead in the top of the fourth as Martinez singled home Koelzer with two outs, the Buffs loaded the bases before a wild pitch scored Fagg from third to tie the game, Nakagawa continued his great day at the plate as the senior walked to score Martinez to give the Buffs a 4-3 lead. The Rattlers answered in the bottom of the fourth with an Andrew Perez RBI double to the gap in left center followed by a Milford three-run homerun to make it 7-4. St Mary's added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth as Jake Mares tripled to right center with two outs to score Hernandez for the 8-4 lead.
 
The Rattlers added to their lead in the home half of the sixth with a Milford solo shot and a Vela RBI double to run the lead to 11-4, the Buffs wouldn't go down without a fight as Koelzer doubled to drive in a pair in the top of the seventh but the lead was too much for an 11-6 defeat. Harris picked up the loss (0-1) for the Buffs, allowing four earned runs on three hits with one walk and a pair of strikeouts in his 1.1 innings of relief.