Athletic Report
February 5, 2000 (3/3)

NMHU BREAKS OPEN CLOSE GAME WITH ENMU Cowboys Rally from 7-6 Deficit for 17-9 Win
PORTALES, NM — New Mexico Highlands scored 11 runs over the final five innings, as the Cowboys took a 17-9 victory over Eastern New Mexico, Feb. 6 at Greyhound Field. NMHU won the 3-game series, 2-1, after the teams opened the season with a double-header split yesterday (Feb. 5).

Prior to NMHU’s offensive explosion, ENMU had overcome deficits of 5-2 and 6-5 to take a 7-6 lead. The Greyhounds gained the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Dallas McMann (Fr., 3B, Amarillo, TX/Randall H.S.) drove in Jeff Zipser (Jr., 2B, Las Vegas, NV/Victor Valley College) with a single to center, and Jeff Thibodeaux (Sr., 1B, Apple Valley, CA/Victor Valley) drove in David Jones (Jr., SS, Sierra Vista, AZ/Eastern Arizona College) with a sacrifice fly.

Taylor Speier tripled to highlight the Cowboys’ 5-run fifth inning. NMHU also benefited from two ENMU errors during the stanza. Joe Densmore provided the big hit for NMHU in the seventh inning. His two-RBI double scored Barry Nixon and Anthony Dunn. A single by Paul Wright, plus an error and a wild pitch by ENMU, led to the final two NMHU runs in the ninth.

ENMU trailed 11-8 after five innings, but the 4 runs scored by Highlands in the seventh put the game out of reach. Ken Vigil pitched 4 2/3 of relief to record the win for NMHU. He gave up 7 hits, but just two runs, both unearned. ENMU starter Chris Stewart (Jr., P, Albuquerque, NM/Manzano H.S.) received the loss.

Andy Viramontes led NMHU with 3 hits in 4 at bats. Nixon was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs and a stolen base. Densmore finished 2 for 5 with two doubles. Dan Howell went 2 for 5 and Mike Hansen was 2 for 6.

For ENMU, McMann was 4 for 6 with an RBI and 3 runs scored. Matt Masiarek (Sr., DH, Brisbane, Australia/Lamar C.C.) was 3 for 5 and Matt Brown (Jr., C, Napa, CA/Diablo Valley College) was 2 for 3.

The Greyhounds return to action next weekend (Feb. 11-12), when they host the Broken Bat Tournament. Other participating teams will be Lubbock Christian, Wayland Baptist and West Texas A&M. Action at Greyhound Field gets underway at 10:00 a.m. both days.