LONGVIEW, Texas – Late rally fueled LETU's win in game one of Saturday's doubleheader at Conrad-Vernon Field.

With the 7-6 victory, the YellowJackets improved to 7-17 overall, including 4-13 in American Southwest Conference play. Howard Payne dropped to 7-15, 2-12.

Trailing 5-4 in the sixth, LETU rallied for three runs on three hits, with Jaggar Vaughn knocking in the tying and go-ahead runs.

Devin Greaff laced a single up the middle to get the frame started. Ethan Wood followed with a smash through the right side of the infield. The pair moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch and with one out, Howard Payne elected to issue Dane Jones his second intentional free pass of the game to fill the bags. Vaughn laced the first pitch he saw down the first base line, plating Greaff and Wood. Cody Stanley provided the eventual game winner when he lofted the 1-1 offering to left field, deep enough to allow Jones to scamper home.

Jones put the YellowJackets up 1-0 in the bottom of first, blasting a solo home run over the fence in left center.

In the fourth, Howard Payne knotted things at 1-all with an unearned run but the YellowJackets responded with three in their turn at bat.

Greaff slashed a liner into the left field corner for an RBI double, driving in Dylan Cortes and advancing Anthony Ybarra to third. Wood and Jones extended the cushion with run-scoring knocks.

After dominating the opposition through the first four innings, Aman Patel struggled in the fifth, surrendering four runs on two hits and three base-on-balls. The final run was unearned and Patel limited the damage by inducing an inning-ending groundout, allowing his team the opportunity to regain the lead.

LETU banged out nine hits, with Wood, Jones, Vaughn and Greaff recording two each. Cortes tallied the final knock.

Shane Salzman replaced Patel on the bump, with runners on the corners and two outs in the seventh. He retired two of the three batters he faced, one by strikeout, earning his first save of the season.

Game Information
WP – Aman Patel (2-2): 6.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 9 K
LP – Brendan Read (0-1): 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
 
Home Runs
LETU: Dane Jones
 
Doubles
LETU: Devin Greaff
 
Stolen Bases
LETU: Anthony Ybarra
HPU: Noah Coronado
 
Hit-by-pitch
LETU: Dylan Cortes
HPU: Taylor Griner
 
Errors
LETU: Ethan Wood; Dane Jones
HPU: RJ Roberts

Start: 1:03 p.m. | Time: 2:08 | Weather: 74 degrees, Sunny, 7 MPH Out to LC