Badger baseball goes 1-3 in home finale vs. Hawks

Freshman standouts led Amarillo College to its only win in the home finale series against Howard College, taking game two Friday at Hodgetown after losing game one.

Catcher Gabe Compton went yard twice for the first multi-homer game of his young career during game two against the Hawks. Meanwhile, on the hill in the same contest, Brayden Gurney recorded his fourth consecutive conference victory as the Badgers run-ruled HC in five innings by the score of 11-1.

The Shallowater native finished his complete-game outing with three strikeouts, two walks, and zero earned runs allowed. As a result, Gurney's four Western Junior College Athletic Conference wins are a team-high mark heading into next weekend's series against Western Texas College.

Additionally, Colton McClure added his fourth homer of the season during AC's victory.

However, the Badgers lost a series opener for the second consecutive week. Howard, trailing 4-1, plated three runs in the fifth inning to tie the game, then added four more in the sixth to secure an 8-5 victory.

Seven and eight-hole hitters Matthew Tellez and Cole Giametta each hit a homer for AC.

Game three had a similar script to the series opener. AC scored three runs in the fourth inning to extend its lead to 4-0. However, Howard answered with a seven-run fifth inning, followed by an eight-run sixth inning.

Despite a late surge in which the Badgers scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the effort was not quite enough for a 16-14 loss. The game three defeat marked the third time this season AC lost when scoring in double digits.

Five Badgers scratched out two hits apiece during game three, including Colton McClure, Brooks Carter, Compton, Jaykenn Marrero, and Luis Gonzalez.

In the series finale, the Hawks ended the matchup with a 14-2 run-rule win in six innings.

The series represented the final homestand at Hodgetown for 13 Badger sophomores. Badgers moving on after this season are Matthew Tellez, Brooks Carter, Dylan Steele, CJ Thornton, Carson Priebe, Jaykenn Marrero, Eli Heyen, Duncan Bowles, Trent Bower, Luis Gonzalez, Alex Cruz, Aiden White, and David Thompson.

With the series loss, AC moved into a three-way tie for fourth place in the WJCAC standings with an 11-13 conference record. As a result, the Badgers are currently tied with New Mexico Junior College and El Paso Community College.

Looking ahead, AC will travel to Plainview, April 17-18, for a matchup against the Westerners at Wayland Baptist University.