BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team split a Friday doubleheader with McMurry University, falling to the War Hawks 9-3 before rebounding for an 8-0 victory. UMHB moved to 7-3 on the season and 4-1 in American Southwest Conference action while the War Hawks went to 10-3 overall and 4-2 in league play.
The War Hawks jumped to an early lead in the first game with a three-run first inning. UMHB got on the board in the third inning with an RBI double from
Lindsey Polleschultz, scoring
Kami Flores. The Cru cut the gap later in the inning when Polleschultz scored on a sacrifice fly from
Blakely Niles. McMurry increased their margin to five with an offensive surge in the top of the fourth inning and added an insurance run in the sixth for an 8-2 lead. The War Hawks added one more run in the final inning before
Lexi Harris scored on an error in the bottom of the seventh to put another run on the board for UMHB. The Cru was not able to overcome the six-run deficit, falling 9-3 to the War Hawks.
Gutierrez led the Cru with three hits while three other Crusaders each added two hits. UMHB scored three runs on 10 hits with one error in the contest while the War Hawks had nine runs on 11 hits with two errors.
Kami Flores took the loss for the Cru, throwing 6.2 innings with four strikeouts. Jenna Lewis was the winner for McMurry, throwing seven innings with three strikeouts.
UMHB opened the second game with a pair of single-run innings.
Grason Long walked in the second inning and came around to score on an error before
Elissa Elliott hit a home run in the bottom of the third inning for a 2-0 UMHB lead. UMHB held the two-run lead until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Cru offense exploded for six consecutive runs.
Grason Long opened scoring, reaching on an error before
Tori Skinner scored on a passed ball.
Kylie Green and
Bailey Eggleston followed that, both scoring on another error before
Elissa Elliott tripled to score
Lindsey Polleschultz.
Izzy Gutierrez sealed the win for the Cru, hitting in Elliott with an RBI single for the 8-0 win.
Tori Skinner led the Cru with three hits while three other Crusaders each added two. Elliott had a team-high two RBI while she and Long both led the team with two runs each. UMHB totaled eight runs on 12 hits with no errors in the contest.
Grason Long pitched the complete-game win in the circle for the Cru. Long threw six innings with just two hits allowed. She tallied seven strikeouts in the shutout.
UMHB closes the series against McMurry with a single game at noon on Saturday, March 11
th in Belton.