The TAMUK baseball team picked up their fourth and fifth wins over the weekend and lost their first pairing of 2020 on Monday in Lawton, Okla.
Game one of Sunday’s doubleheader was a glorified batting practice for the Javelinas who scored 20 runs on 13 hits.
Junior Giancarlo Servin jump-started the run parade with a three-run rocket over the left field wall. An inning later, senior Kohl Ullman crossed the plate on a Dillon Turney-error, extending the Javelina lead to 4-0.
A seven-run rally was sparked by catcher Cameron Melcher, who drove in teammate Seth Spinn on a fielder’s choice grounder. With the bases loaded, Ullman dropped a gapper into left-center, plating Melcher and Port Lavaca-native Steven Bonuz. Ullman’s double was followed by a sacrifice fly from senior Aldo Buendia.
Ullman scored the next run on a wild throw to second, stemming from a double steal involving himself and teammate Austin De Leon. De Leon reached third and came home on a double from sophomore Matthew Stary.
Stary scored the rally’s final run on another Cameron error, setting the score at 11-0.
The host’s only run came off a third inning sacrifice fly by Jayce Clem.
Melcher swatted his first home run of the season at the top of the fourth, catalyzing an eight-run rally. De Leon drove in two runs in the following at-bat and crossed the plate on a Spinn single to right. Stary beat a wild pitch’s return to the plate before Spinn scored on a Servin sacrifice fly, closing the rally.
The onslaught’s final run was a product of a Spinn double that crossed teammate Rey Chapa.
Spinn led the attack, picking up four hits and reaching the plate three times. Servin had a team-high 4 RBI’s. Melcher followed closely behind, driving in three runs.
Despite a kinetic offensive performance, Head Coach Jason Gonzales praised the Blue and Gold’s performance on the bump.
“I really liked the way we pitched in both games,” Gonzales said. “Every pitcher dominated the zone today and our hitters continuously put pressure on them all day. It was good to get two wins in very tough weather.”
Junior John Mike Rodriguez allowed only one run in his six innings on the bump, fanning six.
TAMUK picked up their fifth victory of 2020 in Saturday’s second contest.
The Blue and Gold jumped out early thanks to a double from redshirt junior Will Arnold that crossed Servin and De Leon. Cameron cut into the Javelina lead in the next inning on a ground from Beau Williams.
The Hogs swiped two more runs in the top of the second to pad their lead, the first coming on a sacrifice fly to right from De Leon that scored redshirt junior Hayden Fails, while another double steal, this time from Spinn at first and Ullman at third, brought in the second.
The Aggies would score twice in the fourth to tie the game at 4-4.
Arnold snagged the TAMUK lead in the top of the fifth, sending Servin home on a single. ervin mirrored his classmate with a single of his own into right in the top of the seventh to score De Leon. A sacrifice fly to right from Melcher followed by a single to center from Damian Rodriguez in the ninth set the line score at 8-4 before sophomore Matthew Sessler threw a scoreless ninth to secure his first save of the season.
Game three was played Monday morning and saw the Javelinas lose a small lead en route to a 7-3 loss. Monday’s loss was their first of the season.
The Javelinas held a 2-1 over the Aggies going into the bottom of the seventh before the hosts connected for five runs.
Gonzales was pleased with the series win, but disappointed with the omission of a knockout blow.
“Overall, we’re pleased to be able to take the series win in some unfavorable weather conditions, but we have to learn how to finish somebody when we have them down,” Gonzales said. “We now have a short week of work and have to get ready for a very good Lubbock Christian team this weekend.”
The Javelinas return to LSC-action with a four-game series against LSC-foe Lubbock Christian. The series is set for Feb. 14-16 at Nolan Ryan Field in Kingsville.
