CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffaloes plated a pair of runs in the top of the ninth with two outs to force extra innings before the Lubbock Christian Chaps walked it off in the bottom of the 10^th with a leadoff solo homerun to take the opening game of the Lone Star Conference Championships at Hays Field in Lubbock, Texas.
 
The Buffs wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning as Kory Schmidt lifted a sacrifice fly to straight away center field with one out as Ryan Johnson would tag up followed later in the frame by a Will Fuenning RBI triple to center that scored Adam Becker for the 2-0 lead.
 
LCU responded in the home half of the frame as Brevin McCool tripled to the gap in right center to plate Carson Ogilvie followed by an Eduardo Acosta RBI double to center to make it 2-2. 
 
The Buffs retook the lead on the first pitch of the second inning as Dylan Fesperman lifted a solo blast to left field followed by a Johnson RBI double to right field that score Mike Manetta, WT wasn't done yet as Becker tripled off the left field wall to plate Johnson for the 5-2 lead.
 
WT used the leadoff long ball to add to their lead in the third as Fuenning crushed a solo shot the other way to right center for the 6-2 lead. LCU responded with long balls of their own in the bottom of the third inning as Nate Van Maanen lifted a three-run shot to right field with one out followed by a Jarred Gibson solo shot to right center at 6-6.
 
LCU took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning as Ogilvie tripled off the left field wall to drive in Caden Hensley followed by a McCool RBI single to right for the 8-6 lead. The Buffs responded in the fifth as Kix Ferrel reached on a safety squeeze that scored Eddy Savoie to make it 8-7.
 
The Chaps added to their lead in the home half of the sixth inning as McCool continued his big night with a two-run double to the gap in right center with one out to knock Nick Marshall from the game, LCU would take advantage of an errant WT throw with two outs as McCool would score from second to make it 11-7.
 
WT answered in the top of the seventh as Johnson singled to center field to plate Manetta followed later in the frame by Fuenning second long ball of the night, a two-run shot over the scoreboard in right center to cut the lead to 11-10. LCU used the long ball to add to their lead as Chris Shull started off the bottom of the frame with a solo shot down the right field line to make it 12-10.
 
The Buffs made some noise in the top of the ninth as Savoie would tie up the game with two outs as the Montreal product singled to left with the bases loaded to drive in Johnson and Paul Wittmann to tie it up at 12-12. LCU would end the game in the bottom of the 10^th inning as Ogilvie hit a leadoff solo homerun to left field to complete the cycle while giving the Chaps the 13-12 win.
 
Reese Miller picked up the loss (4-4) for the Buffs, allowing one earned run on one hit with no walks and a strikeout in his 1.0 innings of relief.
 
Game two of the series is set for tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at Hays Field. The Buffs will look to keep their season alive and force a winner-take-all if necessary game on Sunday in Lubbock. 
 
LSC Championship Friday Results
(1) Angelo State - 11, (8) Eastern New Mexico – 0 (7 Inn.) (ASU Leads, 1-0)
(2) St. Edwards – 12, (7) St. Mary's – 2 (8 Inn.) (SEU Leads, 1-0)
(3) UT Tyler – 15, (6) Texas A&M-Kingsville 0 5 (7 Inn.) (UTT Leads, 1-0)
(4) Lubbock Christian - 13, (5) West Texas A&M – 12 (10 Inn.) (LCU Leads, 1-0)