CANYON, Texas- Redshirt sophomore Hayden Johnson launched a pair of grand slams as the No. RV Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team took down No. 17 West Texas A&M 24-20 to claim a Lone Star Conference series victory at Wilder Park on Sunday.

The No. RV Javelinas (3-5, 3-5 LSC) took down the No. 17 Buffaloes (5-3, 5-3 LSC) in a matchup that saw the squad finish one run shy of tying the school record for

runs in a game. Additionally, with 26 hits, TAMUK fell just short of the program record, which sits at 27. 

Johnson tied the school record for RBIs in the game, knocking in nine while going 4-for-5 at the dish, with senior Steven Bonuz logging five hits and sophomore Dalton Kramer four. Bonuz plated three runs and Kramer two, as Bonuz and junior Jacob Rosales each went deep, with Rosales picking up 4 RBIs. 

On the mound, sophomore Carter Poulson (1-1) claimed the victory by tossing 3.2 innings with four strikeouts, while Douglas Rojas (0-1) was issued the loss for WT. Senior Luis Martinez also threw three frames for TAMUK, fanning one, while junior Cole Payne struck out two in the final two innings.

A WT miscue in the top of the first allowed junior Nick Wolff to reach base safely, ahead of a two-run bomb by Bonuz that handed the Javs an early lead. The Buffs answered quickly, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the frame. 

The top of the second saw back-to-back doubles by redshirt junior Ivan Duarte and junior Michael Cervantes plate a run, with a Johnson hit and a classmate Shelby Becker sacrifice scoring another. Wolff then dropped a double into left field, pushing Johnson across the plate for a 7-5 score. Poulson then struck out the side, sending the squads into the third.

Singles by Bonuz and Rosales, as well as a walk by Duarte, loaded up the bases to begin the top of the third. Cervantes was plunked plating one before Johnson blasted the first pitch he saw over the wall in right-center for a go-ahead grand slam. Two WT solo shots followed in the bottom half, resulting in a 10-9 score. 

Following base hits by Bonuz and Kramer, Rosales blasted the Javelina's third dinger of the day, launching one into the West Texas A&M softball complex and putting his team up 13-9. The inning continued with a Duarte single and a Cervantes walk ahead of a Buffalo miscue and a sac fly by Johnson that plated the pair, increasing the Blue and Gold edge to six. 

WT pushed a run across in the bottom of the fourth, resulting in a 15-10 scoreline entering the fifth.

The top of the fifth saw singles by Kramer, Duarte, and Cervantes load the bases up for Johnson, who stepped up and mashed his second grand slam of the day for a 19-10 Javelina lead. Shortly after, two more runs came across, with Bonuz plating Wolff and Kramer scoring redshirt junior Ramsey Amador. 

The opposition again answered, putting up three runs in the bottom half for a 21-13 score. Afterwards, in the top of the seventh, Johnson used a leadoff double and a Becker single to get on third as Amador sacrificed himself for the Javelina's 22nd run of the ballgame. Kramer then plated Becker, and Rosales scored Bonuz resulting in a 24-13 lead.

The Buffs responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning before adding two in the final frame for a 24-20 Blue and Gold win.

The Javelinas will return to Nolan Ryan Field for a nonconference matchup with Texas A&M-International at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, ahead of a four-game series with Eastern New Mexico on the weekend. 

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