The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team completed its three-game sweep of Howard Payne with an 8-0 win Friday afternoon in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 27-10 overall and 21-6 in American Southwest Conference action while the Yellow Jackets fell to 8-26-2 on the season and 5-21 in league play.
UMHB opened the game seven unanswered runs in the first three innings. Kourtney Cummings hit an RBI triple to center field in the first inning, before Avery Kelly slammed a two-RBI double to left field in the second. Devon Walter hit a home run in the third inning, followed by a two-RBI single from Kelly and an RBI single from Dusti Douglas. Linsey Tomlinson sealed the 8-0 win for the Cru in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single for victory by run-rule.
Walter, Kourtney Cummings, Tomlinson and Kelly led the Cru with two hits each while four other Crusaders added one. Kelly led the Cru with two runs while Tomlinson, Logan Lowry, Kasi Cummings, Kourtney Cummings, Walter and Dawson each added one. Kelly was also the team-leader in RBI with three. Karen Tennis earned the win for the Cru, surrendering one hit in five innings of work with four strikeouts. Tia Campos took the loss for Howard Payne, giving up 11 hits and eight runs in three innings of work. UMHB totaled eight runs on 12 hits with no errors while the Yellow Jackets had one hit and one error.
UMHB returns to action on Friday, April 27th in a 5 p.m. doubleheader against East Texas Baptist University in Marshall.
