BROWNWOOD, TEXAS – A seven-hit attack, buoyed by multiple-safety efforts by sophomores outfielder Koy Carpenter (La Vernia, Texas) and Riley Hood (Abilene, Texas), wasn't enough to allow McMurry to claim victory in the 2023 American Southwest Conference lid-lifter Friday, Feb. 24.

Carpenter, extending a personal hit string to five games, continued a red-hot span in which he's hitting .350 with two singles. Hood clouted a pair of singles and scored twice to add to a top-three batting line-up effort for head coach Josh Lee that went five-for-11.

Despite those numbers, the War Hawks couldn't find the win column for the first time overall or in league play. Six errors helped push across eight Howard Payne University runs. The host Yellow Jackets plated five tallies in the first two frames and didn't look back toward an 8-4 win. McMurry, falling to 0-7 overall and 0-1 in the league, did climb within four in their final two at-bats and had runners on base but couldn't close the gap any further.

Junior starting pitcher Jonathan Enriquez (Galveston, Texas) went toe-to-toe with his HPU counterpart for five and two-thirds with four strikeouts. Senior reliever Travis Beauchamp (Waco, Texas) fired two and a third innings of one-hit ball to keep the Maroon and White close.

The three-game weekend set continues with a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 25. The first pitch is noon.