Eagles struggle to push runs across in season opening doubleheader

WICHITA, Kansas — A&M-Texarkana found runs difficult to come by Thursday in a doubleheader with Friends University to officially start the 2024 season. The Eagles dropped a 6-2 decision in the opener before falling 4-1 in the finale.

GAME 1

The Eagles (0-2) had fallen behind 3-0 before getting on the scoreboard in the season-opener. Elvis Park reached base on an error in the fourth, allowing Hunter Reid and TJ Krause to both score. Unfortunately, it would be the only runs produced by TAMUT in the contest.

The Eagles managed just five hits – all singles – and left seven runners on base. Julian Macias, Brandon Riley, Shraedon Naeole-Starkey, Freddie Madera, and Reid each finished with a hit. Krause and Naeole-Starkey each drew a pair of walks.

Gage Mason (0-1) took the loss, throwing four innings and allowing five hits and four earned runs while walking one and striking out one. Mason gave up a pair of solo home runs and had two wild pitches. Anthony Galindo tossed two innings of relief, walking two and striking out one while giving up one earned run and two hits.

GAME 2

It took the Eagles until the final inning to get their lone run in the second game of the day. Oscar Sanchez (0-1) threw 5.2 strong innings, giving up just six hits and four runs with three strikeouts, but got little in the way of run support. Marcus Tidwell struck out one in 0.1 innings of relief.

The Eagles managed just five hits and struck out 10 times without drawing a walk. In his TAMUT debut, Adam Garren had a pair of hits including a double and Reid drove in the lone run of the game for the Eagles – a sacrifice fly that scored Garren in the seventh. Macias, Riley, and Xavier Selway each had a single.