Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
PORTALES — The Eastern New Mexico University baseball team thinks it’s got a pretty good double-play combination and pair of hitting threats in Alex de la Cruz and Endy Villalona.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper agrees. The two have been named to its preseason All-American Team, roughly three weeks ahead of the Greyhounds’ season opener.
Both de la Cruz and Villialona earned all-region and Lone Star Conference honors, and helped the team finish 32-18 last year — second in program history in both overall wins and winning percentage. The 22-game turnaround was the second-highest in all of Division II over the last 10 seasons
De la Cruz played second base for the Hounds and set a program record for runs scored in a season at 65. He also posted the second-highest single-season batting average in team history (.441). De la Cruz also made numerous ENMU single-season top ten lists: slugging (third), on-base percentage (second), hits (fourth), doubles (T-10th), total bases (sixth), stolen bases (sixth), stolen base attempts (seventh). As a junior, he ranked fourth in the nation in batting average.
Villalona played shortstop for the Hounds last season and batted .383 with 12 extra-base hits. As a junior, he led the nation in fielding percentage. In 153 defensive opportunities, Villalona committed just three errors.
The Hounds open the season at the Dallas Christian Tournament Feb. 2.
