Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team could not overcome several costly errors and one big hit as the Cru's ninth-inning comeback bid fell short in a 5-2 loss to Howard Payne Friday night in Belton. UMHB is now 0-2 overall and 0-1 in American Southwest Conference play on the year. The Yellow Jackets improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the ASC on the year with the win.

Howard Payne took a 1-0 lead when Brett Quackenbush scored on a wild pitch in the top of the third inning. Rob Loewe singled home a run in the bottom of that inning for the Cru to tie the game at one. It would stay that way into the top of the seventh before the Yellow Jackets took advantage of three UMHB errors to score the go-ahead run. Walker Dailey reached on an error, stole second, went to third on a throwing error and came around to score on another throwing error on the same play to make it 2-1 HPU. Dustin DeJohn blasted a three-run homer in the top of the eighth to give Howard Payne a 5-1 lead. The Cru cut it to 5-2 on Zack Whiddon's RBI groundout in the bottom of the eighth and UMHB loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth on two singles and a walk with two outs. HPU reliever Kyle Roman would end the threat with a strikeout on a full count pitch to clinch the victory.

Roman earned the win for the Yellow Jackets to move to 1-0. He scattered three hits, struck out three and walked two in three and two-thirds innings of relief work. Cory Farr (0-1) took the loss despite allowing just an unearned run in his one inning of work. Four UMHB pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts and held Howard Payne to just three hits, but the Cru committed five errors in the loss. Dakota Parsons had three hits for UMHB and Loewe added two more. Quackenbush had two of HPU's three hits in the game.

The two teams close out the series with a 12:00 PM doubleheader on Saturday at Red Murff Field. The Cru will then face Trinity University in a non-conference game next Tuesday night in San Antonio.