Score Settled
Eagles shine in 15-5 victory
Texas A&M UniversityTexarkana responded to its second deficit of the game in commanding fashion.
The Eagles baseball team scored seven unanswered runs and went on a 14-1 scoring rally over the final four innings to 10-run rule Texas Wesleyan University, 15-5, Tuesday at George Dobson Field, avenging a 10-9 loss to the Rams earlier this month.
Four of the five Rams’ runs came on solo home runs, but it was TAMU-T (30-13) that exploded for six in the fifth inning, tacked on four more in the seventh and three in the eighth to end the game early.
“This is as good a performance as we’ve had in a while,” Eagles head coach Steve Jones said. “We swung the bats, played defense and pitched well enough. Texas Wesleyan lives and dies by the home run; they got a couple. But we stayed in it and had the big 6-run inning. I was proud of our hitters, and we had guys come in and do a good job out of the bullpen; they cleaned it up.”
Down 1-0 after the top half of the first inning, the Eagles knotted the score in their half of the inning.
Bobby Kramer grounded a 2-out single off the legs of the Wesleyan pitcher and advanced to second on a throwing error. Kramer moved to third on a wild pitch, and Cole Beckham’s hard-hit single inside the bag at third tied the game.
Donny Lopez belted a solo home run for the Rams in the first inning, and Kiki Menendez broke the 1-all tie with a solo blast to left with two down in the fifth inning.
Cory Gallegos made it back-toback behind Menendez with a moon shot over the wall in center field. Barfield ripped a stand-up double to left and scored on Julio Ibarra’s single, making it 4-1.
Texarkana’s big rally started in the bottom of the fifth with a 1-out single to right. Alex Kugler grounded a hit to left, and Zach Boehler smashed a stand-up double off the wall in left to make it 4-3.
After a hit batsmen, a fielder’s choice resulted in the second out, and Kramer scored on a pair of wild pitches. A walk and another hit batter loaded the bags, and Wyatt Miller cleared the bases with a 3-run double to right-center field, giving TAMU-T a 7-4 lead. It was all Eagles from there, save a solo homer by Julio Ibarra for TWU in the seventh.
Justin Swecker picked up the pitching win, working five innings. Swecker gave up four runs—all earned—on nine hits, fanned two and walked one. Tye Holiday, Ethan Davis and Nate McGhee each pitched an inning of relief.
“We really didn’t give them a chance to get back in the game,” Jones said. “We’ve had a hard time putting all three (pitching, hitting and defense), and so it was good to see. I would like to see Swecker pitcher a little more better, but he did well enough and the offense picked him up.”
Kramer plated Kolton Perfect, who singled to lead off the sxth inning, with a sac fly.
Bronson Butcher smacked a stand-up double to lead off the seventh for the Eagles, and Miller lined a single to right-center to drive in the run. Cade Thomason lined a hit to right before a fielder’s choice for the first out. A walk—one of nine free passes issued by the Ram pitchers—loaded the bases, and Boehler ripped a 3-run double into the left-field corner.
Boehler picked up his sixth RBI of the game when he was hit by a pitch in the eighth with the bases loaded, and a fielding error allowed two more runs to score, ending the game as Texarkana went up 10 runs.
Boehler and Cole Beckham were both 3 for 5 at the plate for the Eagles. Miller was 3 for 4 with four RBI, and Butcher and Perfect added 2-for-4 performances. Texas Wesleyan 100 030 10 — 5 12 2 A&M-Texarkana 100 061 43 — 15 16 0 Two outs when game called, 10-run rule. Jacob Barfield, Parker Robinson (3), Corley Huffstickler (5), Steven Frederick (6), Joseph Barfield (7), Dusty Cloud (7) and Cory Gallegos. Justin Swecker, Tye Holiday (6), Ethan Davis (7), Nate McGhee (8) and Bronson Butcher. WP-Swecker. LP-Huffstickler. HR: TWU-Donny Lopez, 1st, none on; Kiki Menendez, 5th, none on; Cory Gallegos, 5th, none on; Julio Ibarra, 7th, none on.