Hounds split with Bulldogs

Freedom New Mexico

WEATHERFORD, Okla. — Senior catcher Freddy Carmona highlighted an eight-run second with a three-run double, while right fielder Ethan Wagner hit a grand slam and first baseman Seth Clabaugh whacked a pair of solo homers to lift Eastern New Mexico University past Southwestern Oklahoma 16-6 Saturday in the first game of a Lone Star Conference baseball doubleheader.

The Bulldogs came back to outscore ENMU 20-15 in the nightcap, giving them three out of four in the series.

The Greyhounds (20-21, 16-16 LSC) built a 14-0 lead in the seven-inning opener and cruised to the victory. Righthander Justin Cotten pitched six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out six.

The Hounds broke open a scoreless tie with their second-inning eruption, which started with Clabaugh’s first homer and also included a two-run single by Stephen Lopez-Barela. All nine Hounds in the batting order hit safely, led by shortstop Garrett Cook with 3-for-6.

Half of ENMU’s 16 hits went for extra bases — five doubles, three home runs.

In the second game, the Hounds jumped on Southwestern starter Chris Morrison for four runs in the top of the first, capped by Wagner’s two-run double. The Bulldogs (25-14, 20-12) scored in each of the first six innings, finally taking the lead with an eight-run fifth that featured a grand slam by Bow Buckner and a two-run homer by Kenny Hare.

Hare added a two-run single in Southwestern’s five-run sixth that made the score 20-9. The Hounds got a two-run homer from Cook, his first, in a four-run seventh and added two in the eighth on a run-scoring triple by Wagner and an RBI double by Chris Eaton.

Morrison (5-2) managed to go 6 2/3 innings despite giving up 18 hits and 13 runs — 11 earned. Jason Stover, who earned a save with 2 1/3 perfect innings in Friday’s opener, gave up the final two runs this time but was able to finish.

Clabaugh and Jeremy Johnson each went 4-for-6 for ENMU in the nightcap, and both finished the day with six hits. The Hounds banged out 21 hits in the second game, but Southwestern turned three double plays to help keep ENMU at bay.