CANYON, Texas – The #4 Buffs battled back to force extra innings before plating four runs in the top of the 11
th inning on Thursday afternoon to pick up a 10-6 Lone Star Conference victory over the UAFS Lions at Crowder Field as WT head coach
Matt Vanderburg claimed his 600
th career victory.
The Buffs got on the board in the top of the third inning as
Ryan Camacho singled up the middle with two outs to plate
Paul Wittmann for the 1-0 advantage. The Lions responded in the bottom half of the frame as Dan Taylor drew an RBI walk with the bases loaded and one out followed by a Matt Schilling infield RBI before Ryan Riggs tripled to left center to drive in three to make it 5-1.
WT cut into the lead in the top of the fourth inning with a
Kyle Micklus RBI single to right with the bases loaded and two outs but Michael Brinton would end the frame with his arm as he gunned down
Owen Alsup at the plate to keep it 5-2.
UAFS added to their lead in the home half of the fifth on a Noah Davis RBI infield single that scored Nico Patrick, WT answered in the top of the sixth as Micklus drove in his second run of the afternoon with a base hit to right center that plated Wittmann to make it 6-4.
The Buffs responded in the top of the seventh as Alsup singled to center with two outs to plate
Dylan Fesperman to make it 6-5. WT wouldn't go down without a fight as Fesperman jumped on the first pitch of the ninth for a solo homerun to left field to tie it up at 6-6.
WT took the lead in the top of the 11
th as
Josh Zapata reached on a dropped popup at the plate to start the frame by a
Rodric Black single thru the left side, Alsup layed down a sac bunt before a
Jovan Camacho pinch hit two-run single up the middle followed by a UAFS error that scored
Patrick Donovan and an RBI walk to Fesperman for the 10-6 lead.
Gavin Pringle picked up the win (1-0) for the Buffs, allowing no runs on no hits with no walks and four strikeouts over the final 3.2 innings.
The Buffs and Lions continue their series tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader set for 1:00 p.m.