PORTALES, NEW MEXICO – After splitting a pair of games on Friday, the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team swept two games from Lone Star Conference rival Eastern New Mexico on Saturday, 6-3 and 9-6.  (Game 1, Game 2)

In the first game, the Javelinas (12-9, 8-8) survived a bottom of the seventh inning rally from the Greyhounds (10-10, 9-7). Freshman Taylor Taska (Kingwood/Kingwood HS) recorded the first two outs of the inning, before giving up three straight singles to load the bases before getting the final out.

The Hoggies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Clifton Thomas (San Deigo, CA/El Cajon Valley HS) led off the game with a triple. He scored on Jerry Rodriguez’s (Canovanas, P.R./North Lake CC) single. They added two more runs on a two-out single by Ben Villafuerte (Corpus Christi/Carroll HS).

The Greyhounds added a run in the second and two more in the fourth inning to tie the game up.

Thomas gave the Javelinas the lead back in the fifth inning with an RBI double. He drove in another run in the seventh inning with his second double of the game. He then scored on Rodriguez’s second RBI single of the game.

Javelina freshman pitcher Colby Schindler (Hallettsville/Hallettsville HS) picked up his first career win by
going 6.0 innings allowing seven hits, three runs and two walks while striking out four. Taska picked up his fifth save of the season in one inning of work.

Thomas and Travis Earles (Houston/Cy-Falls HS) each had three hits in the game for the Hoggies.

In the second game, the Javelinas jumped out to an 8-1 lead and held on for the 9-6 victory. Dan Rogers (Redwood City, CA/Woodside HS) pitched 5.0 innings to pick up his third win of the season. Taska once again came on to pick up the save, his sixth of the season leaving him one short of the school record of seven set by Gabriel Perez in 1995.

Earles was the batting star of the game for the Hoggies as they rapped out 15 hits. He went 3-for-3 with five RBI’s, two runs, a double and a stolen base. The top five batters in the lineup went 12-for-21 at the plate, scored seven runs and drove in eight.

Earles finished the four game series with a trio of three hit games and was 10-for-15 overall with eight RBI’s. He raised his season batting average from .373 to .432 in the series.

Thomas had an outstanding series as well as he went 9-for-19 with seven extra base hits. He had a double, triple and home run in Friday’s second game missing the cycle by a single. He had three doubles, three triples and six RBI’s in the series.

Rodriguez went 8-for-16 in the series with five runs and five RBI’s. He added three stolen bases.

The Javelinas are back in action on March 9 at 6 o’clock at home against Texas A&M-International.
####
pr10086-smm