BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team fought off cold temperatures and rain to take a pair of wins over Concordia University Texas Friday afternoon at Lake Belton High School. The wins gave UMHB sole possession of the West Division and a bye in the 2021 American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament. UMHB earned a 7-1 win over the Tornados before edging Concordia Texas 4-3. UMHB improved to 24-12 on the season and 18-8 in American Southwest Conference action while the Tornados fell to 22-14 overall and 16-10 in league play.
 
The Tornados got on the board in the third inning of the first contest, scoring off a wild pitch. UMHB evened the contest in the bottom of that frame when Bailey Wagner hit in Lexi Harris with an RBI single. UMHB scored another run in the bottom of the next inning to take a 2-1 lead. The Cru added four more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Wagner scored on an error before Bailey Eggleston reached home on an RBI from Izzy Gutierrez. Gutierrez scored UMHB's third run on the inning off a wild pitch and Tyeann Johnson reached on an RBI single from Lexi Harris. The Crusaders added one more run in the bottom of the sixth to end the contest with a 7-1 win. Lexi Harris, Bailey Wagner and Elisabeth Paul led the Cru with two hits each while seven different Crusaders scored runs. Bayleigh Grogan earned the win in the circle for UMHB, throwing seven innings with six hits and one run allowed. UMHB totaled seven runs on eight hits with no errors while the Tornados had one run on six hits with two errors.
 
Concordia Texas took a fourth-inning lead in the second contest, scoring three runs in the top of the frame. UMHB evened the game in the next half inning, scoring three runs off RBI singles from Izzy Gutierrez, Taylor Holman and Milly Cesare. Bailey Eggleston gave UMHB a lead in the bottom of the fifth, reaching on an error and scoring on a double from Elisabeth Paul. Eggleston preserved the win in the top of the sixth, catching a fly ball in left field and throwing out the runner at home to get out of the inning. Camryn Rucker earned the win in the circle for the Cru, throwing seven innings with five hits and three runs allowed. Simone Langland took the loss for the Tornados, throwing six innings with eight hits and four runs allowed.
 
UMHB is scheduled to close the series on Sunday, May 2^nd at 2 p.m. That game will be played at Dee Dillon Field in Belton.