ALPINE, Texas - The Austin College baseball team split its doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Sul Ross, taking game one 9-3 before falling 15-8 in the series finale. The 'Roos are now 2-2 overall to open the year.
In game one, the 'Roos jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as Brett Taff's double cleared the bases, and the margin grew to 6-0 in the third as Justin Alphonse drove in a run and Oscar Gonzalez knocked in two more. Taff blasted a solo homer in the fourth to make it 7-0, and after the Lobos got on the board with a run in the sixth, Taff plated two more runs in the seventh to push it to a 9-1 lead for Austin College. Sul Ross would add two runs in the bottom half of the inning but Ryan Culp was able to close the door in relief.
Chase Almaguer picked up the win, surrendering one run on six hits in 5.1 innings of work, and Taff finished 4-for-6 with six RBI. Gonzalez went 4-for-5 and scored a pair of runs in the victory.
In game two, Sul Ross opened up a 4-0 lead after two innings before Austin College came roaring back with four runs in the top of the third to square things up. Sul Ross regained the lead in the bottom of the inning, but once again Austin College tied things up in the fourth on an RBI grounder from Gonzalez. The Lobos plated two runs in the bottom half of the inning to go on top 7-5, and after the 'Roos tacked on a run to make it 7-6, Sul Ross exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 14-6 game and put things out of reach.
Austin College added a run in both the sixth and seventh innings, but the game was called after eight innings due to lightning. Collin Maynard took the loss, giving up 10 runs on six hits in 4.1 innings of work while striking out three batters and walking seven. Austin Dudley was perfect at the plate, going 5-for-5 with a double, a triple, and two runs batted in.