CANYON, Texas – The #11 Buffaloes plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and held on for a thrilling 5-4 victory on Friday night to open up the Lone Star Conference Championships against the Lions of Arkansas-Fort Smith at Wilder Park in Canyon, Texas.

The Buffs jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning as Kory Schmidt and Dylan Fesperman singled home runs for the 2-0 advantage. WT added to their lead in the home half of the second on a Kyle Micklus RBI double to the gap in left center with two outs to drive in Rodric Black to make it 3-0.
 
The Lions got on the board in the top of the seventh inning with two outs as Brandon Ulmer singled up the middle to drive in Ryan Riggs followed by a two-run double to left by Noah Davis to tie the game at 3-3. 
 
WT retook the lead in the home half of the seventh as Glenn Noronha drew a walk on a rare pitch clock violation to load the bases followed by a five-pitch free pass to Micklus that scored Jovan Camacho, WT wasn't done yet as Ryan Camacho was hit by a pitch for the 5-3 lead.
 
UAFS responded in the top of the eight with a Blayse Quarnstrom RBI to left with two outs that plated Sammy Seeger to make it 5-4. 
 
Douglas Rojas picked up the win (5-0) for the Buffs, allowing one earned run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts in his 1.0 innings of work. Reese Miller claimed his eighth save, walking one and striking out a pair in his 1.1 innings of relief.
 
The Buffs and Lions continue their best-of-three series tomorrow afternoon with first pitch set for 3:00 p.m. in Canyon. WT needs a victory to close out the series and punch their ticket to the LSC Championships next weekend while the Lions are in a must-win scenario to force game three on Sunday.