Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team broke open a tight game with a six-run seventh inning and the Cru rolled to an 8-3 victory over U.T.-Tyler in the 2014 home opener Friday night in Belton. UMHB improves to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The loss drops the Patriots to 3-7 overall and 1-3 in ASC play on the year.

U.T.-Tyler pushed across single runs in the first and second innings to grab a 1-0 lead before UMHB tied it with two runs in the bottom of the third. Dakota Parsons doubled home the first run and scored the tying run on Robert Loewe's infield single. It would stay 2-2 into the seventh before the Cru broke it open. K.J. Stark led off with a triple and scored on a throwing error on a double steal attempt. Zack Whiddon had an RBI fielder's choice as the Patriots committed another error. Chase Burrow would double down the line with the bases loaded to drive in three more runs to make it 7-2 and he scored on a Tripp Reeves single to stretch it to 8-2. U.T.-Tyler added a run in the top of the ninth, but that's as close as it would get.

Ian Ekery threw a complete-game, seven-hitter for the Cru to move to 3-0 on the season. He struck out 11 and did not walk a batter. Burrow had three hits and drove in three runs and Loewe, Stark and Parsons added two hits apiece in an 11-hit attack for UMHB. Jake Beam took the loss for U.T.-Tyler to fall to 1-2. He gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings of work. Steven Paramore and Warren Neely had two hits each for the Patriots.

The two teams close out the series with a 1:00 PM doubleheader on Saturday at Red Murff Field. The Cru will then face DeSales University in a 6:00 PM non-conference game Monday night in San Antonio.