UTB-TSC: Scorpions rally late, lose in extra innings
HOBBS, N.M. - A huge comeback effort by the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College was only a memory as the Scorpions lost 12-11 in 10 innings to University of the Southwest in the Red River Athletic Conference finale Saturday at Jake Williams Field.
USW (15-32, 11-19 RRAC), which was playing its final game of the season, scored two runs in the 10th inning on five straight hits to erase an 11-10 Scorpions lead.
The Mustangs took two of three games from the Scorpions (32-21, 19-11 RRAC), who close out the regular season against The University of Texas-Pan American at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
A comeback and solid relief pitching performance by Baylr Bickerton were almost enough for a Scorpions win.
USW led 9-2 after three innings before the Scorpions came back to score eight runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings for a 10-9 lead. Bickerton, who worked his longest stint of the season, had held USW scoreless from the third to the ninth innings. But a Mustangs solo home run, the only run allowed by Bickerton, tied the game at 10.
Zach Armstrong relieved Bickerton and finished the ninth, sending the game into extra innings.
In the 10th, Peter Maldonado doubled home Jorge Camorlinga to give the Scorpions a 11-10 lead before the Mustangs' rally.
Camorlinga, Peter Maldonado, Felix Fanaselle and Matt Ginn each had three hits. Ginn drove in three runs, and blasted his sixth home run of the year in the sixth inning. Camorlinga scored three times.
Saturday's game marked the first time since March 19 that the Scorpions had scored more than seven runs in a game.
USW had 21 hits in the game, breaking the team record for most hits allowed by a Scorpions pitching staff. The previous record was 19 hits allowed in a game three times.
