Portales, NM - A ninth inning eruption by the Javelina bats paved the way for win number one as Texas A&M-Kingsville took down Eastern New Mexico, 6-2, Saturday from Greyhound Baseball Stadium.
Locked in a 2-2 stalemate entering the final frame, the Javelinas (1-1, 1-1 LSC) used five hits to drive in four runs to earn win number one for the 2026 season. The runs came after the Greyhounds (1-1, 1-1 LSC) knotted the game up and two-apiece in the fifth and now evens up the series for a winner-take-all game on Sunday.
Only a pair of Javelinas saw action on the mound today, as junior right-handed pitcher
James Placke was called to make his Javelina debut. The Midland, Texas, native tossed four innings, allowing just four hits and one run to be scored with one strikeout. The man of the hour for the Javelinas however was
Tyler Schumann. The reigning LSC freshman of the year notched a career-best 11 strikeouts with no walks while allowing just five hits and one run to earn his first win of the season.
It is still early in the season, but the Javelina pitching staff seems to be picking off right where they left off. Currently, Texas A&M-Kingsville has the most strikeouts across all Lone Star Conference teams with 26 strikeouts, and are the only team to have crested the 20-K mark thus far this season.
Kicking off the ninth inning was
Nick Reyes, who notched his first hit of the game with a shallow hit into left field.
Braden Duff would check in as a pinch-runner, and he would get put into scoring position thanks to a
Landon Salinas single up the right side, his third hit of the game. Eventually, Duff would get brought home with a successful
Jaden Cavazos bunt-single, his first action since the 2024 season, to give the Javelinas a 3-2 lead.
The bats were not done working however, as
Sergio Galvan Jr. brought in Salinas for another run with his RBI to third base. The Javelinas went back to the top of the lineup to
Joshua Endo, who drove in Cavazos to make the score 5-2.
Isaiah Aguilar capped off the scoring run in the ninth with an RBI-single that drove in Endo from first base to make it 6-2. Schumann was able to handle the Greyhounds from there, giving the Javelinas their first win.
Texas A&M-Kingsville looks to take the series against Eastern New Mexico on getaway day Sunday at 1:00 pm CST. Fans of the Javelinas can watch on FloCollege or follow the game at JavelinaBSB on X.
