Abilene, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team took leads into the late innings of both games but could not hold on as the Cru dropped both ends of a doubleheader to McMurry University Saturday in Abilene. UMHB lost game one 2-1 and fell 11-10 in the nightcap to drop to 10-16 overall and 5-9 in American Southwest Conference play on the season. The Warhawks improve to 12-14 overall and 6-5 in ASC play with the two wins.
The Cru saw a 1-0 lead slip away late in a 2-1 game one loss. UMHB broke up a scoreless pitcher's duel when Riley Davis scored on an error in the top of the sixth inning. The Warhawks answered in the bottom of that frame when Tyler Jenkins drove in two runs with a one-out double to give McMurry a 2-1 edge. UMHB would get the tying run to third base in the top of the seventh, but could not push across a run. Connor Heussner took the loss to drop to 2-3 on the year after scattering seven hits and allowing two runs in five and a third innings of work. Max Conway had two of the Cru's six hits in the game. Juan Valadez earned the win for McMurry to move to 3-2 on the year after pitching one and two-thirds innings of one-hit relief. Jenkins had three of the Warhawks seven hits in the contest.
UMHB would see McMurry put up ten runs in its final four at-bats for an 11-10 come-from-behind win in game two. The Cru grabbed a 1-0 lead on Will Stafford's RBI double in the top of the second, but the Warhawks tied it in the bottom of that frame. UMHB took a 4-1 lead on RBI doubles from Dakota Parsons and Chase Burrow and Cody Stone's RBI single in the top of the fifth. Parsons doubled home another run in the top of the sixth to make it 5-1 Cru, but McMurry put three on the board in the bottom of that inning to cut it to 5-4. Stafford tripled home two runs and scored on a Riley Davis single to make it 8-4 UMHB in the top of the seventh. The Warhawks rallied with four runs in the bottom of that inning to tie the game and took a 10-8 lead on Noah Clarkson's two-run single in the bottom of the eighth. Burrow doubled home two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 10, but the Cru left the bases loaded in that inning. McMurry loaded the bases on two walks and a single in the bottom of the ninth and pushed across the game-winning run on Danny Perkins' sacrifice fly to walk off with the victory. Cory Farr took the loss for UMHB to drop to 0-3 on the season. Stafford, Parsons and Burrow had three hits apiece to lead the Cru offense. Will Dunlap earned the win for McMurry and Clarkson had three hits in the victory.
The two teams will close out the series with a 1:00 PM single game on Sunday. UMHB will then return home to host Hardin-Simmons University for a three-game conference series next weekend at Red Murff Field.