Longview, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team broke open a tight game with seven runs in the final two innings to post a 13-6 victory in game two and salvage a doubleheader split with LeTourneau University Saturday afternoon in Longview. The Yellowjackets took game one by a score of 8-4. UMHB is now 4-7 overall on the season following the split. LeTourneau is 9-2 on the season.
The Cru blew game two open in the final two innings to post a 13-6 victory. LeTourneau led 2-1 entering the fourth frame, but Tyler Taute blasted a two-run homer and Zack Whiddon added a two-run single to give UMHB a 5-2 edge. After the Yellowjackets scored again in the bottom of the fourth, Taute singled home a run in the top of the fifth to make it 6-3 Cru. LeTourneau tied the game with a three-run seventh before UMHB put the game out of reach. Jake Ricketts singled home a run, Chris Florack added an RBI double and Robert Loewe's sacrifice fly made it 9-6 Cru. In the ninth inning, a run-scoring error got things started for UMHB, Florack singled home two more runs and Taute added an RBI single to close out the scoring. Florack and Taute had three hits and four RBI apiece for the Cru and Whiddon, Loewe and Ricketts added two hits each. Nick Bergmann picked up the win for UMHB to move to 1-2 on the year.
The Cru could not overcome LeTourneau's four-run third inning in an 8-4 game one loss. The Yellowjackets drew first blood before Heath Spencer tied the game with an RBI single in the top of the third. LeTourneau put together four hits and a walk to push across four runs in the third to take a 5-1 lead. UMHB cut it to 5-4 on Loewe's RBI single and Will Stafford's two-run single in the top of the sixth, but the Yellowjackets scored three of their own in the bottom of that inning to put the game out of reach. Loewe had two of UMHB's seven hits in the game and Chance Ryan took the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year.
The Cru will now return home to host a six-game home stand next week. UMHB will host DeSales University for a 6:00 PM single game on Monday. The Cru also added a game on Wednesday and will now face Robert Morris in a 3:00 PM doubleheader instead of a 6:00 PM single game as originally scheduled. UMHB will close out the week with a three-game series against Texas Lutheran University on Friday and Saturday to open American Southwest Conference West Division play.