MARSHALL, Texas– The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team split its doubleheader with East Texas Baptist University Friday evening in Marshall. UMHB fell 2-0 to the Tigers in the series opener before rallying for an 11-4 win. UMHB moved to 28-11 overall and 22-7 in American Southwest Conference action while ETBU went to 30-9 on the season and 23-6 in league play.
 
The first contest opened scoreless with neither team generating a scoring offense until the fifth inning. ETBU recorded its first hit in the bottom of the second but was unable to place a runner in scoring position. UMHB followed that with a hit in the third but was also unable to capitalize. ETBU put up one more hit in the fourth and took a 2-0 lead in the fifth with a two-RBI single from Jackie Ramos. UMHB recorded one more hit in the contest but was unable to score, surrendering a 2-0 win to the Tigers. Kasi Cummings and Dusti Douglas were the lone Crusaders to record hits in the game. Hannah Halepaska took the loss for the Cru, pitching six innings with four hits and two runs. Halepaska struck out one and did not walk a single batter in 23 batters faced. Jordan Anderson earned the win for the Tigers, surrendering two hits in the shutout seven-inning win. Anderson recorded seven strikeouts and did not walk a batter. UMHB totaled two hits and two errors while the Tigers had two runs on four hits with no errors.
 
ETBU came out swinging in the second contest, putting up three runs in the bottom of the first when Chelsea Ham slammed a three-RBI home run. UMHB responded in the top of the second with a sacrifice bunt from Kourtney Cummings and an RBI single from Whitney Flournoy. Devon Walter gave UMHB a lead in the third, slamming a two-RBI home run scoring Emily Bounds for a 4-3 advantage. Bounds hit an RBI single to score Makenzi Dawson in the fifth before Grace Camacho homered for the Tigers in the bottom of that inning, cutting UMHB's lead to just one run. The Cru responded with a three-run fifth inning, scoring off RBI singles Dawson, Walter and Kasi Cummings. UMHB added two more in the top of the seventh with an RBI single from Linsey Tomlinson and a sacrifice fly from Hannah Wolfe to put UMHB up 11-4. UMHB gave up just one hit and forced three groundouts in the bottom of the seventh to finalize the win. Walter and Kasi Cummings led the Cru with three hits each while three other Crusaders added two. Walter was also the team leader in runs and RBI with three each. Hannah Halepaska earned the win for the Cru, pitching 3.2 innings with five hits and one run allowed. Ham took the loss for the Tigers, throwing 2.1 innings with four runs and four hits allowed. UMHB totaled 11 runs on 15 hits with no errors while the Tigers had four runs on 11 hits with two errors.
 
UMHB returns to action in a 12 pm single game against the Tigers on Saturday, April 28^th in Marshall.