Longview, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team grabbed an early lead and held on from there as the Cru posted a 7-3 victory over LeTourneau University Thursday night in Longview. UMHB improves to 16-14 overall and 10-6 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The loss drops the Yellowjackets to 9-21 overall and 1-15 in the ASC on the season.

The Cru put up five runs in the top of the first inning. Ty Johnson and Mitch Patterson had back-to-back RBI singles before Mark Frankhouser doubled home the third run. Emery Atkisson and Caleb Davis followed with RBI singles as UMHB sent 11 men to the plate. The Cru had a chance to add more runs, but left the bases loaded. LeTourneau cut it to 5-1 with an RBI single in the bottom of the third stanza. The Yellowjackets tacked on unearned runs in the fourth and fifth innings to close to within 5-3. Davis' sacrifice fly made it 6-3 UMHB in the top of the eighth. LeTourneau loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but Aaron Barteau came on to end the threat with a strikeout. Frankhouser's RBI single in the top of the ninth added an insurance run for the Cru. Barteau set LeTourneau down in order in the bottom of that frame to preserve the victory and notch his tenth save of the season.

Nathan Kent scattered four hits and allowed just one earned run over seven and two-thirds innings of work to raise his record to 5-3. He struck out four and walked two. Barteau became the first Cru player in the Division III era of UMHB baseball to reach double digit saves in a season. Patterson had three hits for the Cru and Frankhouser, Atkisson and Dakota Best added two hits apiece as UMHB pounded out 12 hits in the victory.

The two teams will close out the series with a 1:00 PM doubleheader on Friday. UMHB will take on Texas Lutheran in a 7:00 PM non-conference game in Seguin on Tuesday. The Cru will then welcome U.T. Dallas to Red Murff Field next weekend for a three-game ASC series to close out the home schedule.