Abilene – The Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelina baseball team scored a run in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat Southeastern Oklahoma 5-4 in the Lone Star Conference Baseball Tournament.
The win evened the Javelinas record at 28-28 while Southeastern Oklahoma finished their season at 29-28.
Freshman Todd Mass had his first four-hit game of his career while Chase Myrick and Clay Bockholt (Tuloso-Midway) each had three hits.
Freshman Mario Gonzalez of Premont earned the victory by pitching 2 1/3 innings of no-run, one hit relief to improve his record to 5-6.
Brandon Hevner started for the Javelinas and pitched 7 1/3 innings of one-run, seven-hit, seven-strikeout baseball and left the game with a 4-1 lead.
Taylor Everett and Mass singled to start the tenth, then pulled off a double-steal to give the Javelinas runners at second and third with no outs. Everett then scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch.
Hevner, a senior from Pleasanton, struck out six and allowed only five hits through the first five innings, none of them extra base hits.
The only run he gave up came in the seventh inning.
Bockholt was the catalyst for the Javelina offense, picking up hits in each of his first three at bats and driving in two of the Javelina’s first three runs.
Chase Myrick led off the game by singling and Bockholt brought him in with a double down the left field line.
In the second inning, Trey Karlen started things off with a one out single. Justin Ariki walked, Myrick singled to drive in Karlen and Ariki advanced to third. Bockholt then drove in his second run of the game to give the Javelinas a 3-0 with an infield single.
A&M-Kingsville made it 4-0 on Mass’ first career home run to lead off the sixth inning.
Southeastern Oklahoma got three runs off of Jeremy Heatley in the eighth to tie the game, but Gonzalez came in with one out in the eighth and the go-ahead run on second and retired the first hitter he faced.
He then allowed a leadoff double and then hit a batter to start the ninth, but got a strikeout and a double play to end the inning. Gonzalez retired the side in order in the tenth to set up the Javelinas winning rally.
The Javelinas will play their next game Monday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.
