BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team used the long ball in the early innings to build a lead and the Cru beat Sul Ross State 13-6 Friday in Belton to win the series with the Lobos. UMHB improves to 11-11 overall and 4-8 in American Southwest Conference play with the win. The loss drops the Lobos to 6-15 overall and 3-12 in the ASC on the season.
 
The Cru jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on solo homers from Kaden deBerardinis and Malek Bolin and a Hunter Jones RBI single. Sul Ross roared back with four runs in the top of the second inning, but UMHB answered with a six-run third inning. Bolin hit a two-run home run, Jones added a three-run blast and Rhett Grosz stole home on a double steal to make it 9-4. The Lobos scored a run in the top of the fifth, but the Cru got it back on Jeb Zolman's sacrifice fly in the bottom of that frame. Blake Harmon added a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth. Sul Ross cut it to 11-6 in the top of the eighth, but UMHB added some breathing room on a run-scoring wild pitch and Harmon's RBI double in the bottom of that inning to take it to the final margin.
 
deBerardinis finished with three hits, Jones drove in four runs on two hits and Bolin added three RBI. The Cru rapped out 12 hits on the day. Zach Carroll earned the win to raise his record to 2-0 for UMHB. Two players had two hits apiece for Sul Ross and Isaac Gallego took the loss for the Lobos. The victory also gives Cru head coach Mike Stawski his first conference series win at UMHB.
 
UMHB returns to action with a non-conference game at Trinity University Tuesday night in San Antonio. The Cru will then travel to Brownwood for a three-game ASC series at Howard Payne next weekend.