BELTON — The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team gave up the game deciding run in the final at bat of both games as the Cru dropped a doubleheader to Howard Payne Saturday in Brownwood. HPU took game on 5-4 in nine innings and won game two 2-1 in eight innings. UMHB falls to 3-9 overall and 0-3 in American Southwest Conference play with the two losses. The Yellow Jackets improve to 9-7 overall and 6-0 in the ASC on the season.
The Cru let a late lead get away in a 5-4 loss in nine innings in game one. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning before UMHB closed to within 3-2 in the top of the second. Hunter McQuary doubled home the first run and scored on an error. Malek Bolin tied the game when he scored on a passed ball in the top of the sixth and McQuary scored the go-ahead run on Jack Herbert’s sacrifice fly. Howard Payne evened it at 4-4 on Ty McCain’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to send it to extra innings. HPU put the potential game-winning run on third base in the bottom of the eighth, but Andrew Hutchings pitched out of it for UMHB. In the bottom of the ninth, Cliff Lunceford led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored the game-winning run on a passed ball. Dalton Harned took the loss for the Cru to drop to 0-2 on the season. Jacob Dellipoali had three of UMHB’s nine hits in the game.
The Cru rallied from an early deficit to send game two to extra innings before falling 2-1 in eight innings. Howard Payne took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. UMHB tied the game on a run-scoring error in the top fourth. The Cru put runners on base in three of the next four innings, but could not take the lead. The Yellow Jackets ended it on a run-scoring throwing error in the bottom of the eighth. Aaron Edelmon took the loss for UMHB after scattering four hits and giving up just one earned run in seven and two-thirds innings of work. Landon Dieterich had two of the Cru’s four hits in the loss.
UMHB will now return home to host Trinity University for a 7 pm single game on Tuesday. The Cru will play a three-game, non-conference series with Southwestern University next weekend.
