CANYON, Texas – The #12 Buffaloes of West Texas A&M scored nine unanswered runs on Sunday afternoon as they finished off a Lone Star Conference sweep of the Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions on a windy day at Wilder Park in Canyon, Texas.
The Buffs jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the home half of the first as
Jonah Gonzales tripled to center to score
Cade Engle followed by RBI from
Kennedy Badgett,
Eric Ortiz and
Kyle Moos. Brooks Sunny homered to right center to start the second followed later in the frame by a passed ball and an RBI groundout to cut the lead to 4-3.
WT added to their lead in the second as Gonzales singled to left to score
Izaiah Madrid followed by a Badgett RBI single to center to center to force a pitching change at 6-3.
The Lions cut into the lead in the third as Sunny singled to left center with one out to score Nolan Riley followed by an RBI single from Dylan Hurt and a walk with the bases loaded to tie the game and force a call to the bullpen. Copper Harris entered and forced a fielder's choice for the second out followed by a double steal and a fly out to give the Lions an 8-6 lead.
UAFS added to their lead in the fourth with a pair of runs before Harris stranded two with a big strikeout at 10-7. The Lions would score more in the fifth as they loaded the bases with no outs followed by a balk, a sac fly and an RBI groundout before Sunny connected on his second long ball of the game for the 14-7 lead.
WT used the long ball to cut into the lead in the fifth as Ortiz crushed a two-run bomb to right center to make it 14-9. The Buffs continued to battle back in the sixth as
Ryan Johnson tripled off of the big wall in left with the bases loaded and two outs to drive in three and make it 14-12.
The Buffs took the lead for good in the eighth as Ortiz singled up the middle with one out to drive in a pair and tie the game before Fuenning crushed his second homerun of the day to left center field for the 16-14 lead.
Justin Zamora was dominant on the mound for the Buffs, picking up the win (2-0) as he allowed no runs on one hit with one walk and seven strikeouts over the last 4.1 innings of play.
The Buffs hit the road next weekend for LSC action as they travel to Edmond, Oklahoma to take on the Oklahoma Christian Eagles in a three-game series starting on Friday night at Dobson Field.
