CANYON, Texas- Junior Nick Wolff hit three home runs as the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team split with No. 17 West Texas A&M, first topping the Buffs 9-3, ahead of a 13-10 defeat in Lone Star Conference action at Wilder Park.

The No. RV Javelinas (2-5, 2-5 LSC) traded blows with the No. 17 Buffaloes (5-2, 5-2 LSC) to secure at least a road-series split, with Wolff mashing three longballs and recording nine RBIs on the day. Wolff went 4-for-7 across 14 innings, while sophomore Dalton Kramer knocked in three and senior Steven Bonuz two.

Game One 

Potent pitching and powerful hitting by Wolff propelled the Pack past the Buffs in game one, with junior Colton Taylor (1-1) picking up a 9-3 victory, while senior Luis Martinez (1) logged his first save of the season and Isaac Keehn (1-1) the loss.

Taylor scattered six hits, fanning four and allowing one earned run in a career-high 5.2 innings of work for the Javelinas, while Martinez struck out one without surrendering a hit in the final 1.1 frames. 

The Buffs scored a pair of runs in the third and fourth before the top of the fifth began with junior Matthew Castro being plunked. Redshirt junior Ivan Duarte sacrificed himself to advance Castro as a classmate Garrett Thompson walk, and a hit batter loaded the bases for Wolff. The junior from Klien, Texas, then clobbered a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall for a 4-2 score line entering the sixth. 

Wolff, however, wasn't satisfied as the Javelinas sent him up to bat following a leadoff double by Duarte and another plunked batter the following inning. Wolff again delivered, launching the third pitch of the at-bat over the wall in right-center for his second long ball of the day and a 7-2 Blue and Gold lead.

WT used a sac fly in the bottom of the sixth to get a run back before loading up the bases with two outs. Martinez then took over for Taylor, inducing a strikeout and stranding ducks on the pond. 

A leadoff triple by junior Jacob Rosales in the top of the seventh put a runner in scoring position for redshirt sophomore Jaden Cavazos who laced a single into right field, plating the final run of the ballgame. Martinez went back on the hill in the bottom half, working a three-up, three-down frame to secure the 9-3 victory. 

Game Two

The Buffs took game two 13-10, despite TAMUK logging more hits than the opposition. Gavin Pringle (1-0) picked up the win for WT, redshirt junior Hunter Kloesel (0-1) the loss, and Tyler Cornett (2) the save.

Junior Shelby Becker took advantage of a dropped third strike before Wollf mashed his third home run of the day to open the scoring in the first inning. The Buffs responded quickly in the bottom of the frame, putting up seven runs for a 7-2 score line entering the second. 

WT scored another in the second before a pair of plunked batters put two on base for Bonuz in the top of the third. He laced a single up the middle, scoring Wolff, with a sophomore Jake Chapman walk shortly after loading the bases. Kramer then dropped a double into left field, plating two for an 8-5 score. 

Another three-spot for the Hogs in the top of the fourth knotted the contest at eight, with Becker batting Duarte in ahead of a Bonuz bases-loaded walk and a passed ball that allowed Wolff to cross the plate. However, two solo shots in the Buffs in the bottom of the frame saw a 10-8 WT lead.

The opposition then tacked three more onto their total in the fifth for a 13-8 score entering the sixth. 

TAMUK clawed back within three in the top of the sixth as Amador and Bonuz each logged hits before Rosales pushed one across and Kramer another for a 13-10 score line.

Senior Matthew Sesler tosses a clean bottom half, but the Javelinas could not rally in the seventh for a 13-10 final score favoring WT.

The squads will battle once more as the Javelinas eye a series victory in a 1 p.m. finale Sunday at Wilder Park. 

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