KINGSVILLE, Texas (Feb. 1, 2020) – Oklahoma Christian had all the momentum after scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull within a run at Texas A&M-Kingsville. But the Javelinas answered quickly and forcefully.
TAMUK jolted the Eagles with five runs in the bottom of the seventh, then added three more in the eight to pull away for a 15-8 win at Nolan Ryan Field on Saturday afternoon in the second game of the season-opening series between the Lone Star Conference baseball foes.
OC (0-2, 0-2 LSC) had 11 hits and drew 11 walks, but the Eagles also stranded 15 baserunners, leaving the bases loaded three times against TAMUK (2-0, 2-0). The Javelinas were more efficient, stranding only six. Kohl Ullman led the Javelinas with four RBIs (and also stole two bases), while three other TAMUK players had two RBIs apiece.
The Eagles' leadoff batter,
Cole Lee, went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and
Michael DiFiore hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the ninth inning for OC.
The Javelinas jumped to a 6-0 lead after three innings, knocking out OC starter
Robbie Suhr (0-1) after the second.
Hayden Boyd, making his OC debut, stabilized matters for the Eagles, pitching 4 1/3 innings and allowing his team to rally.
Lee hit a two-run double down the right-field line in the fourth inning and
Blake Empkey singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the fifth, pulling OC within 6-3, but the Eagles left the bases loaded. The Javelinas tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth.
In the seventh,
Tanner White,
Kevin Collyar and
Coleton Hinkle all walked before
Austin McCain hit an RBI single down the left-field line. With the bases still loaded, Lee and
Grant Lake drew bases-loaded walks to force in two more runs, cutting TAMUK's lead to 7-6. But Tyler Flores, the Javelinas' third pitcher of the inning, retired
Blake Empkey on a fielder's choice grounder to end the threat.
Ullman's two-run single keyed TAMUK's seventh-inning outburst, with Will Arnold and Austin De Leon each adding an RBI single. After OC left the bases loaded in the top of the eighth, the Javelinas tacked on three more runs to make it 15-6.
Jacob Vasquez (1-0), the second of TAMUK's six pitchers, picked up the win for the Javelinas.
The series finale will start at 1 p.m. Sunday. OC's home opener will be Friday, when the Eagles host No. 11-ranked Angelo State (Texas), the LSC preseason favorite.
