HOBBS, N.M. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State baseball team (1-3) was defeated 8-5 and 5-4 Monday to close its opening series at the University of the Southwest (3-1). A seventh-inning rally from the Aggies in the opener fell short, while USW's late rally from a 4-2 deficit was successful in an eight-inning win in the finale.
Game 1: The Aggies left the bases loaded in the first inning but were able to get on the board in the second frame on an RBI triple from
Genesis Nunez, his third three-bagger of the year. USW answered in the bottom of the second, plating two unearned runs.
OPSU did not capitalize on a pair of singles from
Devin Lopez and
Israel Gandara in the fourth inning, and the Mustangs made the visitors pay with two walks, three hits and three runs in their turn to bat to increase their lead to 6-1.
Southwest added on with two more in the sixth, leaving OPSU behind seven heading into the final frame. That's when the Aggies launched a comeback beginning with a walk drawn by Nunez. The next three batters also reached, including an RBI single from freshman
Fernando Espino. After a strikeout,
Philip Matos drove in two more and Panhandle State scored again on an error, but the rally ended there.
Nunez and Matos both had two hits in the opener, as the Aggies outhit the Mustangs, 9-7.
Game 2: Down 1-0 through two frames, OPSU put together its biggest inning of the year in the third. It started with a leadoff single by Gandara, and it continued with a Nunez double to drive him in. After an error that scored another run,
Juan Perez and Lopez both notched base hits, with Lopez' single driving in two to give the Aggies a 4-1 lead.
Meanwhile, freshman southpaw
Adam Hinojosa gave OPSU 5.1 strong innings in his debut, scattering seven hits and just one walk to allow two earned runs, exiting with a 4-2 lead.
Kage Ralstin got out of the sixth unscathed, as the Panhandle State cushioned remained at two runs going into the bottom of the seventh.
USW would score on a one-out, RBI single, and it plated the game-tying run when the Mustangs were down to their final out. Southwest then scored on a walk-off single in the eighth inning.
What's up next: Panhandle State returns to Goodwell, Oklahoma, for its home-opening series beginning Saturday at noon against York University (0-3).
