LAWTON, Okla. – Senior Aldo Buendia (Laredo, Texas) hit a go-ahead homer in the top of the 10th and got the win on the mound as the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team pulled out a wild slugfest against the Cameron Aggies, 18-16 on Friday afternoon in Lone Star Conference action at McCord Field in Lawton, Okla.
This win makes four-in-a-row for the Javelinas and puts them a 19-9 overall and 18-9 in the Lone Star Conference. The Aggies fell to 7-30 and 7-24 in LSC play.
"They showed the same tenacity they've displayed all year," said coach Jason Gonzales when asked about his team postgame. "At this time of the year, style points don't matter. Another tough minded win, [I'm] proud of their perseverance."
This back-and-forth affair only reached extra innings thanks to a two-out RBI double in the top of the ninth by freshman Damian Rodriguez (McAllen, Texas) that brought in pinch runner Braden Shields (Dripping Springs, Texas) with the tying run. Buendia then took over on the mound in the bottom of the frame with a runner on. CU used a pair of walks to load the bases with two outs, but Buendia induced a flyout from Nik Sanchez to keep the game tied.
In the 10th, the senior from Laredo hacked at the first pitch he saw and drilled it over the fence in left-center for a lead-grabbing four-bagger. When senior Cameron Melcher (Kerrville, Texas) singled two batters later, classmate Kohl Ullman (Houston, Texas) followed by lining a double into left-center, bringing Melcher across with an insurance tally. Buendia then wrapped up the win with a perfect bottom of the 10th.
These last two innings capped of a day dominated by both lineups in which the Hogs scored four runs in the first inning and later led by as many as seven until an Aggie rally in the bottom of the seventh produced nine runs and vaulted the home team in front, 16-14. TAMUK crept within a run on a bases-loaded walk in the eighth before Rodriguez's clutch double in the ninth.
Five different players had multiple hits for the Javelinas, including three apiece for Rodriguez and Buendia. Ullman, junior Will Arnold (Magnolia, Texas) and senior Austin De Leon (Frisco, Texas) each contributed two hits and combined to drive in seven runs and score seven times.
The Javelinas will have a chance to bounce back in game two of the series against the Aggies, which will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
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