CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M senior right-hander Joe Corbett struck out nine and walked just one over his seven innings of work as the #8 Buffaloes topped the visiting Lubbock Christian Chaps in a South Central Regional showdown at Wilder Park on Tuesday afternoon in Canyon.
 
The Buffs have an off-weekend before hosting the Cameron Aggies in a four game non-conference series starting on Friday, March 15^that 6:30 p.m. at Wilder Park.
 
THE BASICS:
- Score: #8 West Texas A&M 9, Lubbock Christian 1
- Records: WT (17-3) / LCU (10-6)
- Location: Canyon, Texas
- Venue: Wilder Park
- Series (Streak): Chaps lead 40-16 (W1)
 
RECAP:
Keone Givens singled to right center to lead off the home half of the first followed by a pair of walks but the Chaps got out of the bases loaded jam with a grounder to short to keep the game scoreless. WT had another chance in the second as Jake Pederson was hit by a pitch with one out followed by a stolen base but Logan McCrummen registered a pair of outs to strand another Buff in scoring position.
 
Nick Guaragna singled to third to leadoff the third with an LCU error to put the senior on second, Clay Koelzer grounded out to first to move the runner up 90 feet followed by an intentional walk to Kyle Kaufman with one out. Tag Baxter reached on a fielding error that plated the game's first run followed by a Jaxxon Fagg RBI groundout to make it 2-0.
 
The Chaps cut into the lead in the top of the fourth as Keaton Greenwalt singled to right center with two outs to score Braden Hayward from second base to cut the lead to 2-1. The Buffs responded in the home half as they loaded the bases with one out to bring up the LSC Hitter of the Week, Kaufman singled thru the left side to drive in a pair and force a move to the LCU bullpen. WT wasn't done yet as Fagg connected on his first homerun in Maroon & White with a three-run bomb the other way to left to make it 7-1.
 
WT added to their lead in the home half of the sixth as Darius Carter singled to right center with one out to score Kaufman followed by a Jake Pederson RBI double down the left field line to make it 9-1 and force another move to the Chaps bullpen.
 
Corbett would pick up the win (4-0) for the Buffs as the senior allowed just one run on three hits with one walk and nine strikeouts in his seven innings of work. Mitchell Miller and Dominic Yearego finished off the victory as they both registered scoreless frames.