The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team rallied from a pair of deficits, but could never take the lead as the Cru fell to Howard Payne 4-3 in a non-conference game Tuesday in Brownwood. UMHB drops to 9-20 on the season with the loss. The Yellow Jackets improve to 18-12 with the victory.
HPU grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Max Conway’s RBI single pulled the Cru to within 2-1 in the top of the third inning. Conway’s sacrifice fly tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth, but the Yellow Jackets grabbed a 3-2 lead in the bottom of that frame. Mitch Patterson scored on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh to even the score at 3-3. It would stay that way into the bottom of the ninth before Jay Holland scored the game-winning run on a bases loaded wild pitch.
Patterson and Dakota Best had two hits apiece for the Cru and Best scored two runs. Conway added two RBI. Jake Thomas took the loss to drop to 0-1 on the season. Holland and Noah Payne lead the Howard Payne offense with two hits apiece. Evan Rodriguez picked up the win to even his record at 1-1 on the year.
The Cru will return to American Southwest Conference play with a three-game series at U.T.-Dallas this weekend. That series opens with a 2 pm single game Friday in Richardson.
