KINGSVILLE, Texas (Baseball) – Jimmy Roche tallied two triples and made three spectacular plays at first base in game two as Texas A&M University-Kingsville (6-3) swept Texas College (3-13), 12-5, and 9-2, on Saturday afternoon at Nolan Ryan Field.
Game OneWallace finished game one 2-for-5 with three RBI,
Cline Andrews went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored and
Hayden Vesely,
Brayton Carlson,
JP Phillips and
Ryan Fickel each registered two hits.
The Steers put the first run on the scoreboard in the top half of the first in game one, but Fickel blooped a single to opposite field to extend his hitting streak to seven. The patient Javelinas loaded the bases in the bottom half and
Clint Wallace's two-run triple gave the Hogs a 4-1 lead. The offense continued to showcase a mix of patience and power, batting around and concluding the inning with a 6-1 lead. The first ended with two extra base hits and four walks. Wallace's two-run triple extended his hitting streak to seven and marked the eighth consecutive game that he reached base safely.
TC tacked on two runs in the third to cut its deficit to 6-3.
Matt Terrones (1-0) picked up the victory after striking out five in 5.0 innings. Kyle Randall (0-4) was tagged with the loss after allowing six runs in an inning of work.
Dustin Luna stepped onto the mound in the sixth and went 2.0 scoreless innings.
Fickel's bunt single in the sixth gave him three multi-hit games this season. The Javelinas added three runs in the inning and plated three in the seventh to take a 12-3 edge heading into the eighth.
Trey Taylor threw a scoreless ninth as the Javelinas took game one, 12-5.
Game TwoHayden James (2-1) allowed just three hits in 5.0 innings and a big first inning and fourth inning gave the Javelinas breathing room as Kingsville scored nine runs on eight hits. Continuing to remain patient at the plate, TAMUK recorded eight walks. In the game, Andrews went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI – both coming on his first round tripper of the season. Roche finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and
Miles Holcomb added two RBI.
Two errors allowed TAMUK to score three runs in the bottom of the first. Roche made two spectacular plays in the opening innings, highlighted by a run-saving stop in the second.
A two-out rally in the third began with singles by Andrews and
Blake Johnson and back-to-back walks to
David Massey and Holcomb brought in another run.
Texas College scored a run in the fourth, but the Javs' Roche tripled to begin the inning and came around to score on
Christian Caudle's single. A two-run shot by Andrews – his first home run of the season – gave the Hogs a 7-1 advantage.
Two runs came around for TAMUK in the fifth as the Javelinas defeated the Steers, 9-2, in game two and swept Texas College to improve to 6-0 all-time against TC.
With the victory, head coach
Jason Gonzales is just one win away from tying Hector Salinas for second place on the all-time wins list in Javelina history with 190.
The Javelinas head to Laredo for a nonconference bout at Texas A&M International University on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
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