Feb. 21, 2012
Final Stats
LAREDO, Texas - The Texas A&M International University baseball team continued their early season success, topping Texas A&M Kingsville 8-6 Thursday afternoon at Jorge Haynes Field.
Senior Austin Voros and Matt Arruda combined for five hits capitalizing on three Javelina errors in the winning effort. Junior Donald Fennell picked up the win and Chris Villa was credited the save as the Dustdevils used six different pitchers to reach their seventh win of the season.
Kingsville took a 2-0 lead scoring on sacrifice flies in both the first and third innings but the Dustdevils answered with five runs in the fourth. Voros led off with a single and advance to second after Korey Gosselin drew a walk. Ramon Sandoval attempted to move the runners over with a sacrifice bunt, instead Voros came around to score an unearned run when Kingsville pitcher Ryan Benitez sailed the throw to third base. Alex Salas scored Gosselin on a sacrifice fly to right field followed by Arruda plating Sandoval on a single to center. After a single and another walk, Jeff Anderson scored Anderson on another sac-fly to make it 4-2 TAMIU. Will Wurth reached on a fielder's choice, but the inning was kept alive by another Kingsville error this time by second baseman Cameron Dullnig. During the next at bat, Smedley would come across on a wild pitch giving the Dustdevils their fifth run of the inning.
The Javelinas got two runs back in the bottom half of the fifth stringing together three hits, but again the Dustdevils would respond. Sandoval drew a one-out walk before moving to third on a single by Alex Salas. After Salas advanced to second on a wild pitch, Arruda came through with a two-RBI double down the left field line to make it 7-4. Two batters later Jaron Shimmel connected on a two-bagger of his own into right center making it 8-4.
Kingsville made it a two-run game in the seventh off a two-run shot from Ben Villafuerte, but that's as close as they would get as TAMIU hung on for the 8-6 win.
The Dustdevils improve to 7-3 on the season, as they get set to host Newman University in a three game series starting Friday, February 24. First pitch for game one on Friday is set for 12 p.m., with game two scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.
