SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – On the final day of the regular season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team split a pair of games at Lone Star Conference rival Angelo State on Saturday. They won the first game, 10-4 and dropped the second game, 12-11.  (Game 1, Game 2)

In the first game the Javelinas (28-23, 24-18) jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two innings and never looked back. Clifton Thomas (San Diego, CA/El Cajon Valley HS) and Jerry Rodriguez (Canovanas, P.R.) opened up the game with back-to-back doubles to get the team on the board. They scored five times in the second inning as Cody Stigall (Seguin/Seguin HS) provided the fireworks with a three-run homer.

The Rams battled back scoring two runs in the fourth and fifth innings to pull to within three runs, but the Hoggies had the answer with a three-run sixth inning. Trent Wagner (Victoria/Memorial HS) had the big hit in the inning, a two-out, two-run double.

The Javelinas finished with 14 hits in the game. Rodriguez went 3-for 5 with two RBI’s and two doubles while Luis Diaz (Santa Ana, CA/Century HS) was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs. Thomas finished the game with a double and a triple giving him 20 and nine, respectively on the season. He is only the second player in school history to hit 20 doubles in a season and is tied for first in single season triples.

On the mound, Colby Schindler (Hallettsville/Hallettsville HS) picked up his second win of the season. He tossed 5.0 innings allowing five hits, two earned runs and three walks while striking out three. Clint Brown (Red Oak/Red Oak HS) continued his mastery of the Rams by pitching the final 2.0 innings allowing just one hit while striking out two.

In the second game, the Javelinas led 7-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning before the Rams exploded for seven runs. All seven runs came with two outs as the Rams put together three walks and four straight hits. Clay Puckett had a two run single to cap off the inning.

Despite trailing by three runs, the Javelinas quickly tied the game in the top of the seventh. They loaded the bases with one out, scored a run on a ground out and then tied the game on Jared Moore’s (Tyler/Chapel Hill HS) two-out, two-run single.

The Hoggies reclaimed the lead in the eighth inning. Ben Villafuerte (Corpus Christi/Carroll HS) doubled home Travis Earles (Houston/Cy-Falls HS) to make it 11-10 Javelinas.

In the ninth inning, the Rams tied the game on Zak Leonhardt’s single and then won the game on a two-out error by the Javelinas. Jeremy Tietze improved to 5-2 for the Rams by tossing 2.0 innings in relief.

The Javelinas finished the game with 19 hits. Trent Wagner went 4-for-6 with four RBI’s, two runs, a double and a home run. Brandon Rohr (Anaheim, CA/Orange Lutheran HS) went 3-for-5 with two RBI’s and his fourth homer of the season. Moore finished the game with three hits and three RBI’s while Rich Arroyo (Missouri City/Elkins HS) went 2-for-5 with three runs and an RBI.

The Javelinas advance to the LSC Tournament for the first time since 2008 when they won the tournament.
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