CANYON, Tex. - The Regis University baseball team (2-3) handed No. 10 West Texas A&M University (10-1) their first loss of the season, 7-2. The Rangers dropped the second game 6-4, splitting the double header in Canyon, Texas.
How It Happened | Game 1: Senior
Connor Rochon, who accounted for three of the Rangers 6 hits in game one, picked up right where he left off with a base-knock up the middle on his first at-bat. His hit, however, did not result in any RU runs. The Buffs loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning but managed to get just one run across home-plate.
After both teams went scoreless in the second and third inning, Rochon and junior
Coby Zimmerman led-off the top of the fourth with back-to-back singles to right field. A West Texas fielding error allowed Regis to place three ducks on the pond with two outs to work with. Freshman
Ben Kittay roped the third pitch he saw to center-field, pushing the game tying run across the plate. The Buffs regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning, scoring one run on two hits and an error.
Rochon came up to bat with two outs and two runners on base in the fifth inning. He sent the first pitch he faced over the right-field wall to give the Rangers their first lead of the game, 4-2. Rochon's three-run shot was the first RU home run of the 2019 season.
The Buffs, after being retired 1-2-3 in the fifth inning, got just one base-runner on the board in the sixth. Regis, however, did not allow the runner to get into scoring position before retiring the side.
Sophomore
Andy Beyene got on board with a full-count infield infield single to lead-off the top of the seventh. Sophomore
Marcus Salvato was put on first base via a walk before junior
Ryan Tierney laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving Beyene to third and Salvato to second. Rochon was then intentionally walked, jamming the base path. The Rangers extended their lead to 7-2 after Zimmerman connected for a three-RBI double to left-center.
Junior
Kobie Schmitt entered the game in the middle of the seventh as the relief pitcher. He struck-out the first two batters he faced and later forced a flyout to center-field, securing the second win of the season for RU.
Game Notes: Regis out-hit West Texas 11-8. Rochon (3-3, 1 HR) and Zimmerman (3-4, 2 2B) each recorded a game-high three hits. Junior
Kennedy Phillips (2-3) was the only other Ranger to tally multiple hits.
Senior
Matt Heibult (1-0) picked up his first win of the season. He retired four batters on strikes and allowed just one hit in 2.2 innings of work. Sophomore
Colin King got the start on the bump, going 3.1 innings and allowing two runs on six hits.
How It Happened | Game 2: The Buffs jumped out to a 6-0 lead, scoring six runs on six hits through the first two innings. The score remained the same until RU was able to get on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning.
Senior
Mickey Meinhofer led off the fifth with a double to left-center before sophomore
Thomas Alexander was walked. M. Salvato's infield hit sent Meinhofer home to bring the score to 6-1 in favor of the Buffs.
Regis placed base-runners on first and second base in the seventh inning and again, M. Salvato batted a run in with a single to left-center. With two-outs, Rochon singled to right-field resulting in two RBI's, bringing the score to 4-6 in the Buffs favor. Zimmerman was hit by a pitch after Rochon advanced to second base on a wild pitch, putting the go-ahead run in the batters box. Both runners were left on base as the next batter up was retired on strikes.
Game Notes: Rochon (3-4) recorded three hits yet again as he led the Rangers to six total hits. RU was out-hit 8-6 by the Buffs. Regis left seven runners on base compared to five for West Texas.
Freshman
Justin Kleinsorge (0-2) was given his second loss of the season after allowing six runs on six hits in 1.2 innings of work.
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University baseball team will finish their four-game series against West Texas A&M University with a nine-inning game set to begin at 12 p.m. tomorrow, February 17.
