CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M strung together 16 hits on Friday night as they opened Lone Star Conference action with a 16-5 run-rule victory over Eastern New Mexico at Greyhound Field in Portales, New Mexico.
 
The Buffs wasted little time getting on the board as Eddy Savoie started the game with a triple to the warning track in right followed two batters later by a Kennedy Badgett RBI single to center field for the 1-0 lead. ENMU responded in the home half of the frame as a Spencer Roach infield single with two outs plated Camden Matthews followed by a two-run triple to center by Cooper Hamilton made it 3-1.
 
WT got back on the board in the top of the second as Mike Manetta started off the frame with a solo homerun to right field, a pair of ENMU errors and a hit by pitch loaded the bases followed by a Ryan Johnson sac fly to plate Izaiah Madrid. WT wasn't done yet as Badgett drove in his second RBI in as many innings with a single to left followed by an Adam Becker single thru the left side to plate Savoie and make it 5-3.
 
The Buffs added to their lead in the third as Savoie singled to right to plate Madrid followed by a Johnson sacrifice fly that scored Paul Wittmann to make it 7-3. Eric Ortiz started off the top of the fourth inning with a big bomb to right field followed later in the frame by a Savoie sac fly and extra-base hits from Johnson and Becker to extend the WT lead to 13-3.
 
WT would score again in the top of the fifth as a passed ball would plate Wittmann from third with two outs to make it 14-3, the Hounds responded in the bottom of the frame as Roach singled up the middle with two outs to plate Nyles Duren. 
 
The Buffs would take advantage of a pair of ENMU errors in the sixth as Madrid singled to center to score Manetta for an unearned run followed later in the frame by a throwing mistake that plated Madrid at 16-4. Eastern wouldn't go down without a fight as Nick Schifftner doubled to the right center field gap with one out in the seventh to plate Duren but a pair of outs ended the game, 16-5.
 
Maddux Hoaglund picked up the win (1-0) on the mound for the Buffs as the sophomore allowed four earned runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts in his five innings of work. Isaac Keehn tossed a scoreless sixth inning as he struck out two followed by Sam Davis in the seventh as the true freshman allowed one run on one hit with a pair of strikeouts in his collegiate debut.