ENMU Friday baseball, softball

PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University got strong pitching from Kelly Crain, Ian Thurman-Kelly and Jesse Garcia-Perez and swept a Lone Star Conference crossover baseball doubleheader from Cameron 4-1 and 1-0 on Friday at Greyhound Field.

Crain (3-0) pitched a seven-inning complete game — his third of the spring — while scattering five singles and allowing just a first-inning unearned run. He walked three and struck out seven.

Thurman-Kelly, making his first appearance of the spring after sustaining a shoulder injury, worked four shutout innings in the nightcap. Garcia-Perez (1-2) pitched the final three innings, and became the first ENMU pitcher other than Crain to pick up a win when Gilbert Alvarado — Eastern’s fourth consecutive pinch-hitter — singled to center on an 0-2 pitch with two out in the bottom of the seventh to drive in Brett Scherer with the game’s only run.

ENMU (4-8) had just six hits off CU’s Derek Bennett in the opener, but bunched five of them in the third to score three runs and break a 1-1 tie.

Bryan Moore drove in the go-ahead run with an opposite-field single to left after Joey Aguilar led off with a single and stole second and third. Moore then went to third on a hit-and-run single to right field by Tyler Hayes, and both runners scored on a double up the right-center field alley by Boyd Erickson.

Eastern tied it without benefit of a hit in the second when the Aggies (6-4) made two errors, the latter a dropped pop fly in short right by Derrick Mihecoby which allowed Brian Green to score from second.

After starting the nightcap with a hit batsman a walk, CU right-hander Allen Mitchell (0-1) retired 16 of 17 hitters before Moore lined a two-out single to left in the sixth to break up his no-hit bid.

In the seventh, Erickson doubled to the base of the left field fence and took third on a pinch-hit infield single by Scherer. The Aggies then walked Mark Wallace intentionally, but Mitchell got Matt Hinojosa to roll into a first-to-home to first double play.

Alvarado then slapped a grounder to the right of second. CU’s Ben Wyckoff deflected the ball into the outfield as he tried to backhand it.

The teams complete their four-game series with another doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday.

ENMU splits softball games — At Weatherford, Okla., catcher Courtney McClasky’s two-run triple highlighted a six-run fifth that carried Eastern New Mexico University past Ouachita Baptist 11-5 on Friday in the Southwest Shootout, hosted by Southwestern Oklahoma.

Katie McDermott went 4-for-5 with three RBIs as the Zias (5-9) broke away from a scoreless tie after four innings, finishing with 15 hits against four Ouachita pitchers. Junior Chris McGee (2-2) went the distance in the circle for ENMU, allowing 10 hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Earlier in the day, the Zias lost to Washburn 8-7, with the Lady Blue scoring three runs in the top of the seventh off Lauren King (2-3) to erase a 6-5 deficit.

Senior Maegan Rhoten put the Zias in front 3-2 with a three-run homer in the fourth. The Zias then erased a 5-3 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

ENMU finishes play in the event today with games against Pittsburg State and Emporia State at 1 and 3:30 p.m. (MST), respectively.

Baseball

First game

ENMU 4, Cameron 1

Cameron 100 000 0 — 1 5 2

ENMU 013 000 x — 4 6 1

Derek Bennett and Chris Balsinger; Kelly Crain and Brett Scherer. W — Crain (3-0). L — Bennett (2-1). LOB — Cameron 9, ENMU 2. 2B — ENMU: Boyd Erickson. T — 1:39. A — n/a.

Second game

ENMU 1, Cameron 0

Cameron 000 000 0 — 0 4 0

ENMU 000 000 1 — 1 4 0

Allen Mitchell and Balsinger; Ian Thurman-Kelly, Jesse Garcia-Perez (5) and Brian Green. W — Garcia-Perez (1-2). L — Mitchell (0-1). DP — Cameron 1. LOB — Cameron 7, ENMU 5. 2B — Cameron: Josh Burkhart. ENMU: Erickson. T — 1:44. A — n/a.

Softball

Southwestern Shootout

At Weatherford, Okla.

First game

Washburn 8, ENMU 7

Washburn 001 130 3 — 8 14 5

ENMU 000 303 1 — 7 9 1

Fluker and Woodson; Lauren King and Courtney McClasky. W — Fluker. L — King (2-3). LOB — Washburn 8, ENMU 9. 2B — Washburn: Webb, Woodson, Fluker, Schmidt. HR — ENMU: Maegan Rhoten. T — 1:30. A — 23.

Second game

ENMU 11, Ouachita Baptist 5

ENMU 000 062 3 —11 15 2

Ouachita Baptist 000 011 3 — 5 10 2

Chris McGee and McClasky, Liz Navarro (6); White, Dedas (5), Whitney (6), Brettinge (6) and Maxton. W — McGee (2-2). L — White. LOB — ENMU 9, Ouachita Baptist 7. 2B — ENMU: Katie McDermott 2, Cindy Hess. Ouachita Baptist: Phipps. 3B — ENMU: McClasky, Rhoten. T — 2:00. A — 12.