Patriots steamroll Hounds
Apr. 2—TYLER, Texas — If it hopes to reach the Lone Star Conference baseball tournament for a second consecutive year, Eastern New Mexico University's baseball team will need to come out of its recent funk. And soon.
The slumping Greyhounds struggled through the final three games of their Lone Star Conference series against Texas-Tyler over the weekend, dropping a doubleheader on Friday and the getaway game on Saturday as their losing streak reached seven games.
Junior left-hander Kolby Parker (2-1) and senior right-hander Logan Henderson combined on a six-hitter in the finale, and the Patriots completed a four-game sweep with their second consecutive shutout, a 5-0 decision.
The result leaves the Hounds (14-20, 12-20 LSC) tied for 10th in the 13-team league with St. Mary's, with the top eight teams advancing to the league tournament in early May. They currently trail eighth-place Texas A&M International (17-21, 17-19) by two games.
ENMU, which lost a competitive series opener 4-3 on Thursday, scored only one run over the final 25 innings of the series.
"It was the same story today in Game 4 (of the series)," ENMU coach Riley Price said. "I thought we pitched it OK, but we couldn't get the big hit with runners on and walks combined with errors didn't help.
"I've got to tip my cap to Tyler, they played clean baseball all weekend. But we're much better than we played and need to get our mojo back quickly."
Tyler (21-14, 21-14) broke open a scoreless contest with a four-run third, with junior catcher Blake LaBuda providing the big blow with a three-run double and then scoring on a single by freshman designated hitter Kaston Mason. Junior first baseman Ethan Bedgood drove in the final run an inning later with a sacrifice fly off ENMU junior right-hander Josaiah Estrella (2-3), who gave up all eight Tyler hits while working four innings.
That was all Parker and Henderson would need. Parker pitched out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth before giving way to Henderson, who earned his first save of the campaign with three shutout frames.
Freshman left-hander Jadon Rendon and sophomore right-hander Zach Raichel combined for four hitless innings in relief for ENMU, although they also combined for five walks.
It was Tyler's first LSC sweep of the season and the first time the Hounds have been swept.
ENMU has four series left, with the first three against teams in the lower half of the conference. They host Arkansas-Fort Smith (15-17, 15-17) for four games this weekend, beginning with a 5 p.m. tilt on Friday.
