CNJ staff
ADA, Okla. — Eastern New Mexico University’s bid for the program’s first trip to the Lone Star Conference baseball tournament took a turn for the worse Sunday as East Central beat the Greyhounds 9-6 in the completion of a game suspended on Saturday by lightning and 13-7 in the regularly scheduled contest.
The Tigers won three of four in the series from the Hounds (21-22, 14-18 LSC), who are four games behind sixth-place Texas A&M-Kingsville with eight to play in their bid for the final spot in the six-team tournament.
East Central scored a run to go up 6-3 in the fourth inning when play resumed on Sunday. The Hounds tied it with three in the top of the fifth, but left the bases loaded.
The Tigers regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Lucas Armenta. Jared Owen added insurance with a two-out, two-run single.
ENMU batted around again in the first inning of the series finale, scoring four times. Catcher Freddy Carmona capped the outburst with a two-run double.
But East Central bounced back for four in the bottom of the inning. The Tigers went ahead on Dusty Rowland’s RBI single in the second and added three runs each in the third and fourth innings for an 11-4 lead.
East Central outhit ENMU 16-15, with Gillum and catcher Josh Nine both going 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
For ENMU, senior second baseman Tyler Hayes went 3-for-3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, reaching base all five times in a game for the second time in the series. Designated hitter Paden Vendrely and third baseman Derrick Kennedy were both 3-for-5, while Carmona finished 2-for-5 and drove in his third run of the game with a groundout in the fourth.
