CANYON Texas – The #5 Buffaloes of West Texas A&M held on for an exciting 7-6 victory in an elimination game of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Baseball Championship as they knocked off #24 UC-Colorado Springs at Foster Field in San Angelo, Texas.
 
The Buffs jumped out to an early lead in the first inning as Kennedy Badgett singled thru the left side to score Jonah Gonzales with one out followed later in the frame by a Will Fuenning RBI single to left to make it 2-0. 
 
WT added to their lead in the fourth as Gonzales doubled the other way to the warning track in right to score Cade Engle followed by a Keone Givens RBI single to left to run the lead to 4-0.
 
The game went into a lightning delay for the second straight day as Mathieu Gauthier was dominant on the mound before the stoppage, allowing no runs on four hits with one walk and a pair of strikeouts.
 
The Mountain Lions pushed across their first runs in the home half of the sixth as Aaron Faragallah singled to left field with two outs to score Jaeden Hegman followed by a Matt Berg two-run double down the left field line to cut the lead to 4-3 and knock Justin Zamora from the game. A wild pitch moved Berg to third followed by a Michael Bennin infield RBI single to tie up the game headed to the seventh.
 
The Buffs responded in the top of the eighth as Justin Martinez came thru with a pinch-hit two run single to left center to score Fuenning and Justin Robinson for the 6-4 lead.
 
The teams entered another short lightning delay in the bottom of the eighth as UCCS loaded the bases with one out as Chandler Dean entered from the pen. The senior from Bowie got out of the jam with a popup and a fly ball to send the teams to the ninth. 
 
WT added an insurance run in the top of the ninth as Reese Patterson lifted a sac fly to center field with one out and the bases loaded that scored Fuenning at 7-4. The Mountain Lions wouldn't go down without a fight as they plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth before Dean ended the game with a strikeout for the 7-6 win.
 
Chris Rodriguez picked up the win (6-1) on the mound for the Buffs, allowing no runs on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts in his 1.2 innings of work. Dean claimed his third save of the year, allowing two earned runs on one hit with two walks and a strikeout in the final 1.2 frames.

The Buffs keep their season alive as they advance to tomorrow's semifinal round against the loser of the Angelo State/Colorado Mesa winner's bracket contest tonight in San Angelo. The Buffs will battle either the Rams or Mavericks in an elimination game starting at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Foster Field.