The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team used late-inning heroics to pull out both games as the Cru swept a doubleheader from East Texas Baptist Monday in Belton. UMHB won game one 3-2 in nine innings and posted a 5-4, 13-inning win in game two. The Cru is now 5-8 overall and 3-3 in American Southwest Conference play following the two wins. ETBU falls to 10-8 overall and 4-2 in the ASC with the two losses.
UMHB won game one 3-2 on a walk-off wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Tigers scored an unearned run in the top of the second inning, but the Cru tied it on Dakota Best's squeeze bunt in the bottom of that frame. Another unearned run in the top of the third gave ETBU a 2-1 lead. UMHB would tie it on Mark Frankhouser's RBI double in the bottom of the fourth after leaving eight runners on base through the first three innings. It would stay tied into the ninth. Best led off with a bunt single and moved up on a sacrifice bunt. Back-to-back intentional walks loaded the bases and Best scampered home with the game-winner on a wild pitch. Aaron Barteau (2-0) earned the win for the Cru. Evan Samoff was outstanding in the start, throwing eight and third innings of three hit ball and not allowing an earned run. Best and Mitch Patterson had two hits apiece. Logan Sprinkle took the loss for the Tigers to drop to 1-1 on the year.
The Cru used another late rally for the 5-4 win in the 13th inning of game two. ETBU scored two runs in the first and added single runs in the second and fifth innings to grab a 4-0 lead. UMHB used a three-run fifth to get back into the game. Frankhouser's sacrifice fly plated the first run, Landon Dieterich's groundout score the second and Patterson added an RBI single. Best's RBI single in the bottom of the sixth tied the game at four. The Tigers loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but Barteau closed out the frame. ETBU left two runners on in the top of the 11th and the Cru left two on in the bottom of the inning. UMHB had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th, but a double play ended that threat. ETBU would load the bases with one out in the top of the 13th, but Jacob Krzemien used a strikeout and line out to get out of that jam. Caleb Davis ripped a one-out double down the left field line in the bottom of the 13th and moved to third on a groundout. Best then ended the game with a drive over the drawn-in outfield to plate Davis with the winning run. Krzemien earned the win to move to 1-0 on the year. Best had four hits and two RBI for the Cru and Davis added two hits. Chad Boudreaux took the loss for ETBU. Jaxon Rader had three of the Tigers' eight hits in the loss.
UMHB will continue its home stand with a 6:00 PM non-conference game against Blackburn College on Tuesday. The Cru will then travel to Austin for a three-game series at Concordia Texas this weekend.
