KINGSVILLE, Texas - The Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball program battled St. Edward's to a doubleheader split on Saturday at Nolan Ryan Field, with a walk-off win going in favor of the hosts at 3-2 before the visitors took the back end at 8-3.

"I didn't think we played particularly well all day," said head coach Jason Gonzales. "We had a big inning [in the first game] and walked that off, so I was proud of the way they fought.

"I haven't liked our approach at the plate the last couple games, but I think we're in a funk right now and we have to fight our way out of it. What I do like is the character and the fight of this team, so I think we're going to be alright."

The Javelinas (10-7, 10-7 LSC) got a walk-off, two-run single to left center from sophomore Steven Bonuz (Port Lavaca, Texas) in the bottom of the seventh for the win in the first game, but the Hilltoppers (9-8, 9-8 LSC) put up eight runs in two innings in the second game to come away with the split.

GAME ONE

Junior John Mike Rodriguez (Corpus Christi, Texas) took the complete-game win on the front end as he pitched all seven innings and carried a flawless game into the fifth before a leadoff single from Dante Gutierrez broke up the no-hitter. The Hilltoppers ended up with two runners in scoring position with one out in the stanza, but Rodriguez sat down Trent Rosenauer on strikes before getting Jayson Flores out on a pop up to the catcher to end the inning.

The Javelinas, meanwhile, go the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning after senior Austin De Leon (Frisco, Texas) led the home half of the frame with a triple dropped into the left-center gap and scored on a grounder to second base from junior Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas) for a 1-0 lead.

The score held firm until the top of the seventh when Ty Markee poked a single into left field before Phelps' at-bat. Phelps laced a triple down the right field line to tie the game and ended up scoring on an errant throw back into the infield to put the hosts on the other end of the 2-1 score in the bottom of the seventh.

The Hogs ended up getting two runners aboard after redshirt sophomore Matthew Stary (Houston, Texas) roped a single into left with one out before De Leon reached on a Hilltopper miscue. The two ended up in scoring position during the next at-bat after SEU's Jacob Vasquez was called for a balk, prompting the visitors to give a free pass to Servin to load the bases.

One swing from Bonuz was all it took as he lifted the 2-0 pitch into the left center gap and both Stary and De Leon raced home before joining the celebration out a second base as the Javelinas came away with the one in game one at 3-2.

GAME TWO

The back end of the doubleheader sang a different tune with Servin scoring on an error in the bottom of the first for another 1-0 lead. Servin and redshirt junior Will Arnold (Magnolia, Texas) both walked in the frame for runners and first and second before the failed pickoff attempt from Nathan Medrano sailed over the first baseman's head and skipped away far enough for Servin to score.

Junior Amado Almanzar (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) cruised through the first two innings before running into trouble in the third. SEU tied the game after an errant throw on the bunt attempt allowed Dominic Morace to score before two more came across on another Javelina miscue coming off a single from Everett Featherston that plated Matt Jimenez and Hunter Torrez.

The final two runs of the frame came across once Gutierrez pushed a double into left center for the 5-1 lead favoring the Hilltoppers going into the bottom half of the third. St. Edward's tacked on its final runs in the fourth with a three-run shot from Vasquez over the left field wall for an 8-1 edge.

TAMUK failed to make a dent in the score for the next few innings as Medrano settled into a rhythm, with the best chance also coming in the final at-bat for the hosts in the bottom of the seventh. The Javelinas loaded the bases with three consecutive singles before the first run of the rally came home on a bounding-ball single through the left side from Servin to cut the lead to 8-2.

Bonuz posted what became the final run with his fielder's choice grounder to the first baseman Featherston, who took the throw over to second to retire Servin but allowed senior Aldo Buendia (Laredo, Texas) to come home. The final out required a monumental effort from Vasquez who made a diving catch on Arnold's fly ball into the right-center gap to preserve the 8-3 score for the Hilltoppers, bringing the game to an end in the process.

Buendia was the lone Javelina with multiple hits as he finished with two and broke up the no-hitter from Medrano in the bottom of the fifth with a single to left.

The Javelinas look to salvage the series split on Sunday, March 1, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. CT at Nolan Ryan Field.

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