AUSTIN, Texas – The #4 Buffaloes of West Texas A&M came out on top of Sunday's resumption of the opening game before falling in the nightcap to the St. Edward's Hilltopper at Lucian-Hamilton Field in Austin, Texas during Lone Star Conference action.
The Buffs and Hilltoppers will conclude their weekend series on Monday afternoon with the series finale scheduled for 1 p.m. first pitch in Austin.
GAME ONE
The Buffs wasted little time getting on the board as
Jonah Gonzales doubled to the gap in right center with one out followed by a failed pickoff attempt to move the senior up 90 feet to third base,
Keone Givens doubled down the left field line to reach base for the 40
th consecutive game and score Gonzales followed later in the frame by a
Reese Patterson infield RBI single for the early 2-0 lead.
St. Edward's responded in the bottom of the first as Morgan Allen started the inning with a solo homerun to left field to make it 2-1.
WT added to their lead in the second as Givens drove in his second RBI with a single thru the left side followed by a
Kennedy Badgett two-run double down the left field line and another Fuenning double that plated two, SEU made a call to the bullpen and
Kyle Moos drew a walk to put Buffs on the corners with two outs followed by an
Izaiah Madrid RBI single to center to run the lead to 8-1.
The game entered a lightning delay heading into the third inning around 2:00 p.m. and the decision was made to postpone the remainder of the opener until Sunday afternoon starting at Noon.
Cade Engle started off Sunday afternoon with a double down the right field line followed later in the frame by a Givens RBI single and a Badgett RBI double to run the lead to 10-1.
The Toppers cut into the lead in the home half of the third as Davis Drewek doubled off of the left center field wall to drive in a pair with one out followed two batters later by a two-run homerun to right field by Dylan Macklin. WT added to their lead in the fifth as Badgett singled to left center to score Engle and Givens with one out to make it 12-5. SEU cut into the lead in the bottom of the frame as Turner Olson scored from third on a wild pitch with two outs at 12-6.
The Toppers cut into the lead in the seventh as Macklin scored from third base on a wild pitch with one out. SEU used the long ball again in the eighth as Drewek lifted a solo homerun down the right field line with two outs, the Hilltoppers would load the bases before
Chris Rodriguez slammed the door with a big strikeout with the bases loaded to keep it at 12-8.
WT added an insurance run in the top of the ninth as Engle lifted a solo homerun to right center field with two outs to make it 13-8. St. Ed's wouldn't go down without a fight as Chase Cos connected on a solo homerun to left field with one out in the ninth but
Justin Zamora settled in and registered the last two outs for the 13-9 win.
Cooper Harris picked up the win (1-0) for the Buffs as the senior allowed one unearned run on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts in his 2.0 innings of relief, Zamora claimed his third save as the Lakeside, California product allowed one earned run on one hit with no walks and no strikeouts over the final 1.1 innings of play.
GAME TWO
WT jumped out to an early lead in the second game of the afternoon as
Ryan Johnson singled down the left field line with two outs to score Givens for the 1-0 lead. SEU took advantage of a pair of Buffalo errors in the bottom of the third to score two unearned runs for the 2-1 lead.
The Buffs used the long ball to retake the lead in the top of the fourth as Fuenning led off the frame with a solo bomb to left field followed immediately by a
Kyle Moos shot to left, WT wasn't done in the frame as Engle singled to right field with two outs to score
Justin Robinson for the 4-2 lead.
SEU tied up the game in the home half of the fifth inning as Allen connected on a two-run homerun to left field with one out to make it 4-4. The Buffs retook the lead in the seventh as Moos was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs to score Engle. The Hilltoppers would respond in the home half as Kyler Kerlin singled to center to score Mackin with no outs followed later in the frame by a Matthew Giles RBI groundout and a Jake Hahn RBI single to right for the 7-5 lead.
Mathieu Gautheir picked up the loss (9-3) on the mound for the Buffs, allowing seven runs (five earned) on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts in his 6.1 innings of work.
