Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 LAREDO, Texas – Texas A&M International welcomed Heartland Conference foe Rogers State to Jorge Haynes Field on Friday, splitting a doubleheader between a 13-4 game one victory and a 6-5 game two loss. With the split, TAMIU improves to 6-14 and 1-7 in league play.
The two teams will play the rubber match on Saturday, with first pitch coming at 11 a.m.
GAME 1: TAMIU 13, RSU 4 (7 Innings)
Starting pitcher Jeremy Gonzalez picked up his first win of the season, going five full innings with seven strike outs, four walks and just three hits and runs allowed. Baylr Bickerton closed the game with two innings of work, striking out two and allowing a walk, a run and a hit.
Offensively, the Dustdevils exploded for six extra-base hits – including home runs by Nathan Halas, Gordie Taggart and Jake Cardoza. Halas and Cardoza also hit doubles, joining Connor Belvin.
Cardoza (3-for-4), Arturo Castro Jr. (3-for-4), Halas (2-for-3) and Michael Colorado (2-for-4) each raked multiple hits, recording two, one, three and one RBI – respectively. Andrew Arteaga (1-for-4), Belvin (1-for-3) and Taggart (1-for-3) contributed hits as well. Arteaga, Belvin, Alex McKeon and Daniel Cruz each reached via walks. McKeon and Halas were hit by pitches.
McKeon and Belvin each stole a base.
RSU struck first, plating two in the third inning before TAMIU answered with three of its own. The fourth inning saw the Hillcats score once, while TAMIU belted in five runs before adding another in the fifth and four in the sixth.
GAME 2: RSU 6, TAMIU 5
TAMIU found itself in an early three-run hole after RSU plated one in the third and two in the fourth innings. The Dustdevils fought back when Arteaga sent a RBI double to left-center field to score Colordao in the fifth.
RSU got that run back in the seventh, but Castro's RBI double and Arteaga's sacrifice fly in the bottom half pulled TAMIU within one. Rogers scored twice more in the eighth, mirrored by TAMIU's pair of runs off a Cardoza sacrifice fly and a Colorado RBI single.
That one run turned out to be the difference.
Castro led the Dustdevils with a 2-for-4 day, followed by single hits by Arteaga, Halas, McKeon, Belvin, Daniel Benavides, Taggart, Cardoza and Colorado. Arteaga also stole a base.
Starting pitcher Abdel Rivera went 7 1/3 innings with six strike outs and five runs – just two earned – allowed.
