Hounds earn season-opening sweep over Sul Ross State

ALPINE, Texas — Senior catcher Gerald Juarez went 3-for-4 and hit a clinching three-run homer in the seventh inning as Eastern New Mexico University defeated Sul Ross State 8-5 Friday in the first game of a season-opening baseball doubleheader.

The Greyhounds came back for a 15-7 win in the nightcap as senior Mike McDuffie collected three hits and drove in four runs. The teams complete the four-game series with a noon (MST) twin bill today.

Senior right-hander Evan Courteau worked six solid innings in the opener, allowing only four hits and two unearned runs.

ENMU took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a two-run double by Clayton Young, then picked up three runs in the fourth in a rally highlighted by Tyler Hayes’ two-run single.

The Lobos scored twice in the bottom of the sixth, but Juarez followed a one-out single by McDuffie and a walk to Seth Clabaugh with his game-clinching home run in the seventh.

ENMU broke the nightcap open with a five-run second for a 6-0 lead. The rally featured a two-run single by senior Tim Crafton.

After the Lobos closed to 7-4, the Hounds added four-run outbursts in the fifth and sixth innings. Senior third baseman Derrick Kennedy hit an RBI single in the fifth and came back with a two-run single in the sixth.

Junior right-hander Troy Vaughan worked five innings for the win, allowing nine hits and four runs while striking out six. McDuffie finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead a 12-hit attack.