TYLER, Texas – Junior Logan Garza (Round Rock, Texas) took center stage for the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball program on Friday at Irwin Field and fashioned a nine-inning, complete-game shutout of No. 24 UT Tyler for a 1-0 win in the second game of the Lone Star Conference series.
"Tremendous job of responding after a tough loss," said head coach Jason Gonzales. "Logan [Garza] was as dominating as I've seen in a long time. He gave us momentum heading tomorrow with a chance to win a series on the road."
Garza struck out 12 for the Javelinas (14-7, 13-7 LSC) and got some defensive help en route to the decision against the Patriots (17-8, 16-7 LSC). He sat down eight of the nine leadoff batters he faced and permitted only five baserunners while scattering three hits over the course of his outing.
The transfer from Our Lady of the Lake sat down multiple hitters on strikes in four separate innings, including his strike out of the side in the bottom of the third. UTT got a two-out double down the left field line in the bottom of the third from Lukas Polanco for the lone extra-base hit as the bats were largely ineffective for the majority of the game.
Riley Jepson reached on an infield single in the bottom of the sixth and ended up at second on the lone Javelina miscue of the day. Jordan Gochenour gave the hosts a chance to take the lead after he dropped a single into right on the next at bat, but a brilliant relay from freshman Matthew Castro (Corpus Christi, Texas) to junior Giancarlo Servin (Edinburg, Texas) ended in the hands of senior Cameron Melcher (Kerrville, Texas) who made the spit-second tag at home on Jepson for the final out to keep the game scoreless heading into the seventh.
Garza reigned supreme from there, allowing only two walks to no hits in the rest of the way en route to his second win of the year and the first nine-inning, complete-game shutout for the Hogs since Preston Plovanich accomplished the feat in a 2-0 win over Southwest Baptist on February 9, 2018. It was also the third game of the year where Garza recorded at least 10 strikeouts.
The Javelinas were equally befuddled by Patriot starter Nick Niebur through most of the game. The visitors got a runner on base safely in each of the first four innings but failed to move them past second.
The Hogs finally chased Niebur with one out in the eight after loading the bases on a walk, an infield single and a hit-by-pitch. The host's pitching change proved timely, however, as A.J. Irvin got a strikeout and a fly ball to end the scoring threat.
The decisive moment came in the final at bat for the Blue and Gold as Servin drew a one-out walk ahead of senior Austin De Leon (Frisco, Texas), who summarily ripped a single to right to put runners at the corners and prompted another pitching change.
Senior transfer Aldo Buendia (Laredo, Texas) brought in the contest's only run as he skied a fly ball to center field that was deep enough for Servin to take the 90-foot jog from third base. Garza took over from there as he retired the Patriots in order in the ninth for the win.
The game-three rubber match is set for 1 p.m. CT at Irwin Field on Saturday, April 3.
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