Falcons sweeps ENMU baseball in weather-extended series

PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University’s baseball team finally broke the scoring ice on Monday, but even a day’s delay due to weather couldn’t change the Greyhounds’ overall fate.

Sunday’s Lone Star Conference series finale between ENMU and Texas-Permian Basin at Greyhound Field was pushed back because of rain. After 24 scoreless innings to start the four-game set, the Hounds managed some damage on offense in the finale, but they fell behind 10-0 early and dropped an 18-6 decision to the Falcons, who posted their first LSC series sweep since joining the conference in 2017.

Sophomore shortstop Michael Clapperton promptly put UTPB (9-13, 9-13 LSC) in front with a leadoff home run, kicking off a seven-run first for the Falcons. They added three in the second before the Hounds came back with four in the bottom half to end their weekend dry spell.

Permian Basin, though, struck for five more in the top of the third and went on to win in a game shortened from nine innings to seven by the 10-run rule.

After three relatively well-pitched games to start the series, including a pair of 1-0 wins on Saturday for Permian Basin, the finale was simply a mess. Each side used five pitchers, who combined to issue 14 walks (eight by ENMU), hit 11 batters (six by UTPB) and toss seven wild pitches (six by the Hounds).

Left fielder Garrett Thornton led a 14-hit Falcons attack, going 5-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. Third baseman Devin Ferrari drove in three runs with a two-run triple and a single, while catcher Jonathan Bermudez was 2-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch while scoring four runs.

Shortstop Daniel Hunt keyed ENMU’s second-inning rally with a two-run single. Freshman Ross Montoya hit a run-scoring double in the third and freshman Camden Matthews delivered a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

ENMU will be at home again this weekend for a four-game LSC series against Texas A&M-Kingsville, beginning with a 6 p.m. contest on Friday.

Permian Basin 1-1, ENMU 0-0 (Saturday) — After dropping Friday’s series opener to the Falcons 5-0, the scoring drought reached 23 innings in Saturday’s twin bill as the Hounds managed only six combined hits in the two seven-inning contests.

ENMU had been blanked only twice this season coming into the weekend.

Sophomore right-hander Ethan Coombes (1-5) threw his third complete game in a row in Saturday’s opener for ENMU, allowing just three hits and striking out a season-best 12, but for the second consecutive outing he was saddled with the loss. Over 20 innings during that stretch, he has allowed 11 hits and four runs (three earned), with nine walks and 25 strikeouts.

Montoya had ENMU’s only extra-base hit of the day, a two-out triple in the fifth, but junior right-hander Trever Berg (4-1) got a strikeout to escape the frame and finished off a four-hitter, striking out six.

Permian Basin’s Pemron Burrows reached second on an error in the third inning, took third on a passed ball and scored the unearned run on Clapperton’s sacrifice fly.

In the nightcap, Hounds junior right-hander Josh Lewis (1-4) pitched easily his best game of the season, scattering seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts. But Falcons catcher Andrew Williams reached on a two-out single to left in the top of the seventh and rode home on a triple to left-center by center fielder Pemron Burrows.

Junior right-hander Tyler Stone (1-3) set ENMU down in order in the bottom half to nail down a two-hitter for UTPB, walking two and striking out eight.