Athletic Report
March 4, 2001

JAVELINAS EDGE GREYHOUNDS, 4-3
PORTALES, NM — Texas A&M University-Kingsville led 4-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, then held on for a 4-3 victory over Eastern New Mexico University, in a Lone Star Conference game, Mar. 4 at Greyhound Field.

TAMU-Kingsville won the weekend series two games to one, and improved to 11-11 overall, 3-3 in the LSC South. ENMU fell to 9-12 on the season, including 4-5 in the LSC South.

Lavelle Morgan, the starting pitcher for TAMUK, almost pitched a complete game. He left with the bases loaded and the tying run at third base after throwing 8 2/3 innings. Morgan struck out 8 batters and allowed 3 walks. He limited ENMU to just 5 hits.

Juan Obregon replaced Morgan on the mound, and faced Luz Leal, Jr. (So., OF/P, Laredo, TX/Alexander Magnet H.S.) with the game on the line. Leal hit the second pitch hard, sending a deep fly ball to left center. John Dean ran from his center field position to make the catch and end the game.

ENMU scored earlier in the ninth inning to pull within a single run. Franco Barrero (So., DH, Laredo, TX/Laredo J.C.) opened the inning with a double to left center. Jeff Zipser (Sr., 2B/SS, Las Vegas, NV/Victor Valley College) then reached base on an error by shortstop B.J. Griffith, as Barrero advanced to third. Morgan struck out Dallas McMann (So., C, Amarillo, TX/ Randall H.S.) for the first out, then Matt Brown (Sr., 1B/C, Napa, CA/Diablo Valley College) hit a grounder to Griffith.

Griffith tossed the ball to second baseman Denzil Davis to force out Zipser, but Brown beat out the relay throw to first and Barrero scored to make it 4-3. Chris Stewart (Sr., OF/P, Albuquerque, NM/Manzano H.S.) ran for Brown, and two walks later the bases were loaded. Leal came close to driving in the deciding runs, but Dean’s catch in left center sent the Greyhounds to their eighth loss by one run or in extra innings this year.

Denzil Davis, who was 2 of 4 for TAMU-Kingsville, scored the game’s first run in the second inning. He hit a single to left field with two outs, advanced to second on a single by Aaron Higginbotham and scored on a single by David Gonzalez. Andy Hostetler (Jr., OF, Albuquerque, NM/Valley H.S.) tied the game with a run in the fourth inning. He reached first base on an error, was sacrificed to second by Barrero, and later scored on a single by Brown.

TAMUK scored twice in the fifth for a 3-1 lead, but the Hounds pulled back within a single run in the sixth, when Hostetler tripled off Dean’s glove as the outfielder attempted to make a diving catch. Hostetler scored when Barrero reached on an error.

The Javelinas increased their lead to two runs in the eighth. Adrian Rosales walked to start the inning, and eventually scored on a single by Armando Huerta. Top hitters for the Javelinas were Huerta, who went 3 for 4 with an RBI and Gonzalez, who finished 3 for 4 with 1 run and 1 RBI. ENMU’s 5 hits came from 5 different players, but Hostetler scored twice and Brown drove in two runs. Morgan improved to 3-2 with the win for TAMU-Kingsville.

ENMU starter Greg Stimack (Sr., RHP, Lakewood, CO/J.K. Mullen H.S.), who fell to 0-3, made his first appearance at home since breaking his upper arm during the summer of 1999. Stimack gave up 6 hits, struck out 2 batters and allowed 3 walks in 5 innings.

Reliever Rich Thomas (Jr., RHP, Albuquerque, NM/ Trinidad J.C.) registered 3 strikeouts and a walk in 3 innings. He allowed 1 run. The Greyhounds return to action on Tuesday, Mar. 6 at Wayland Baptist University.

The Tri-State Baseball double-header is set for 12:00 noon (MST). ENMU and WBU split a pair of games played on Feb. 10 and 12 at the Broken Bat Tournament in Lubbock, Texas. ENMU won the first meeting, 6-0, and Wayland Baptist won the second game, 4-2 in 8 innings.