KINGSVILLE, Texas (Baseball) – The Javelinas rode the arm of the big fella
Hunter Perkins, who tossed 5.0 innings of one-run ball and
Hayden Vesely went 3-for-4 with two RBI as Texas A&M University-Kingsville (2-3) defeated Texas A&M International University (4-7), 7-2, Friday evening at Nolan Ryan Field.
Perkins struck out four and threw 90 pitches to improve to 1-0 after his second start of the season.
Jako Kelm came out of the bullpen with 2.0 scoreless innings and
Trey Taylor matched Kelm's 2.0 innings in relief and punched out two. Osvaldo Raya allowed six runs in 6.0 innings to fall to 1-2 in 2016.
"Hunter is getting better every time he steps on the mound and he threw extremely well for us tonight," said head coach
Jason Gonzales. "He will continue to improve and Trey and Jako came out of the 'pen and were exceptional. They fed off each other and threw strikes. That is all we could ask of our pitchers."
The Javelinas struck first after a leadoff double in the second off the bat of
Ruben Almaguer. The freshman cleanup hitter came around to score on
Jimmy Roche's sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead.
Texas A&M International returned the favor in the top of the third, but the Blue and Gold struck back with a run in the bottom half of the frame to take a 2-1 lead after
Brayton Carlson, who reached on a walk, scored on Vesely's single.
"We put a freshman in at cleanup because we think highly of Ruben," said Gonzales. "He is extremely smart at the plate and comes up with timely hits. Hayden is a veteran and gives us a leadership presence."
The Javelinas added two more runs in the fifth after Carlson led off the inning with a blast off the light pole in left field and
Dalton Perry scored on
Zach Smith's sacrifice fly.
The Dustdevils chipped away at their deficit in the sixth with a run to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
Vesely continued his hot start to his senior season with an RBI triple in the seventh to give the Hogs a three-run cushion.
Christian Caudle drove a run in on a fielder's choice and Almaguer came around to score as Texas A&M-Kingsville took a 7-2 lead into the eighth.
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