KINGSVILLE, Texas – Head coach
Jason Gonzales made history on Friday at Nolan Ryan Field as the Texas A&M University-Kingsville baseball program opened up game one against No. 17 Angelo State with a win.
Gonzales became the first head coach in TAMUK history to surpass 300 career wins as the Javelinas (22-7, 2-3 LSC) bested the Rams (25-10, 6-3 LSC) at 16-2 to open up the four-game Lone Star series.
Freshman
Tyler Flores (San Antonio, Texas) got the bill on the mound for the Hogs and turned in a 12-strikeout, complete-game gem in his second career start to anchor the Blue and Gold. Flores scattered four hits and two runs over seven innings of work en route to the win.
The Javelinas opened the scoring in the bottom of the second after redshirt-junior
Alex Gonzalez (Corpus Christi, Texas) laced a liner into right center and slid head first into third with his first triple of the year, while junior
Dylan Hutcheson (Wichita Falls, Texas) and junior
Pablo Hernandez (Havana, Cuba) ended up crossing the plate for a 2-0 TAMUK lead.
Angelo State cut the lead to one after Nick Novak drove a pitch into straightaway center field to cap Michael Urquidi in the top of the third, but Flores would retire the final batter of the inning on a ground ball to keep the Rams at bay.
The Hogs posted four runs in the fourth as Hernandez sparked the rally with a two-run blast over the left field wall for a 4-1 lead behind his team-leading fourth round-tripper of the year.
Redshirt-sophomore
Kohl Ullman (Houston, Texas) followed up with a squeeze bunt to cap Hutcheson as he pushed a pitch from Tyler Lesley towards the first base side of the field. Lesley would get the hook later in the inning as he went 3.2 innings pitched, allowing seven hits and six runs to go with four punchouts.
Gonzalez capped the rally after he scored on an errant throw from Lesley in a failed attempt to pickoff senior
Austin Ingraham (Fort Worth, Texas) at first, prompting the pitching change from ASU while putting the Javelinas ahead at 6-1 heading into the fifth.
The Rams added a second run to their tally in the sixth after Brad Mathiowetz skied a solo shot to left for a 6-2 line score, but the Hogs would open the floodgates in the bottom half of the frame to blow the game wide open.
Hernandez led the stanza off by getting plunked on the first pitch of his at bat, while Hutcheson followed up with a five-pitch walk.
Gonzalez put down a sacrifice bunt in the ensuing at bat but ASU's pitcher took the ball and went to third in an attempt to retire the lead runner.
Hernandez ended up reaching the base safely as the throw went wide of the bag, and both Hernandez and Hutcheson ended up crossing the plate on the play, setting the tone for the remainder of the frame.
Ullman's single to center would score Gonzalez, as the Corpus Christi, Texas, native landed on third in the aftermath of his bunted ball, while Ullman scored on a bases-loaded walk from junior
Manny Loredo (McAllen, Texas) later in the inning.
Hernandez, up for his second at bat of the stanza, roped a liner into left center to score senior
Dallas Stefano (Cypress, Texas) and senior
Christian Caudle (Klein, Texas), while Hutcheson followed suit with a bounding-ball through the right side to cap Loredo.
Gonzalez stepped up and drove his second triple of the day to left center for two more runs as Hutcheson and Hernandez cleared the base paths, while Ullman closed the rally with a double in the left center gap to bring Gonzalez home.
Seven of TAMUK's 10 runs in the frame came with two outs as the hosts held a 16-2 lead heading into the seventh.
Flores provided the exclamation point on the day as he retired the side in the seventh on strikes to bring his total to 12. The San Antonio, Texas, native got the first two batters swinging on the full-count while he needed only three pitches to the final batter to end the game.
The Hogs posted 13 hits in the game with 10 coming from four different members. Gonzalez led the way with a perfect 3-for-3 performance while Ullman matched the total with a 3-for-4 day.
The Javelinas will face the Rams in a Saturday doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. to continue the weekend Lone Star series.
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