ALPINE, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team swept Sul Ross State University 15-10, 12-2 Friday afternoon in Alpine. The wins improved the Cru to 16-15 on the season and 13-13 in American Southwest Conference play while the Lobos fell to 7-24 overall and 5-18 in league play.
 
UMHB opened the first game with a 4-0 lead over three innings. Dusti Douglas hit a sacrifice fly to score Devon Walter in the first, followed by a home run from Kourtney Cummings in the second inning. Karley Free followed that with a home-plate steal in the top of the third before Walter doubled to score Jade Lassetter for a 4-0 lead. The Lobos responded, scoring four runs in the bottom of the third to even the game at 4-4. Back-to-back home runs from Myranda Hinojosa and Leah Brown opened scoring in the top of the fifth for the Cru. UMHB's Kasi Cummings, Douglas and Bailey Bohlken all recorded RBI as Free, Kasi Cummings, Walter, Cori Drake and Douglas all scored. The Lobos added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, cutting UMHB's lead to 10-6. The Cru added five more runs in the final two innings of play and fought-off an offensive threat from Sul Ross State in the bottom of the seventh, securing the 15-10 UMHB victory. Devon Walter led the Cru with five hits, followed by Brown with three. Douglas recorded a team-high five RBI, while Free added three RBI and a team-high three runs. UMHB's Karen Tennis earned the win for the Cru, pitching 6.1 innings with 12 hits and nine earned runs. Tennis also struck out five in the contest. UMHB totaled 15 runs on 18 hits with one error while the Lobos had ten runs on 13 hits with three errors.    
 
Leah Brown opened scoring in the second game, scoring Kourtney Cummings with an RBI double to right center field. Brown scored one batter later on a throwing error, giving the Cru a game-opening 2-0 lead. Sul Ross State evened the game in the bottom of the first with two runs but Kourtney Cummings hit a sacrifice fly to score Dusti Douglas and give the Cru a 3-2 advantage. UMHB added two more runs in the top of the third when Brown scored on a wild pitch and Free scored off an RBI single from Walter. The Cru added three more runs in the top of the fifth and four in the top of the sixth, highlighted by a three-RBI home run from Free and another home run from Kourtney Cummings. Kourtney Cummings and Brown led the Cru with three hits each while Free had a team-high three RBI and Brown scored four runs. Haley Parker earned the win in the circle for the Cru, pitching six innings with six hits, two earned runs and one strikeout. UMHB totaled 12 runs on 13 hits while the Lobos had two runs on six hits with three errors.
 
UMHB continues the series tomorrow in a 12 p.m. game against the Lobos in Alpine. UMHB returns home to face Hardin-Simmons University next weekend at Dee Dillon Field in Belton.