BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team earned a pair of nine-run wins over University of the Ozarks Friday evening in Belton. The wins improved the Cru to 23-9 overall and 16-3 in American Southwest Conference action. Grason Long also threw a no-hitter against the Eagles.
 
Grason Long opened the game with a perfect first inning before the Cru took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Lexi Harris opened with a walk before Izzy Gutierrez singled, advancing Harris to third. Julia Crofut followed that with a double to score Blane Simmons and Harris. UMHB added one more run in that frame off an RBI single from Polleschultz. Long pitched another perfect frame in the second before UMHB added three more runs in the bottom of that inning, scoring off a sacrifice fly from Gutierrez and a two-RBI single from Bailey Eggleston.
 
Long pitched two more perfect frames in the third and fourth innings before Lexi Harris scored on an error in the fourth to put UMHB up 7-0. The Eagles put on one base runner in the fifth but a double play eliminated the threat for the Cru. Taylor Holman sealed the win, hitting a home run to score her and Polleschultz for the 9-0 UMHB win.
 
Long earned her 10^th win of the season, striking out eight batters with no hits, runs or walks allowed. She faced 15 batters, allowing just one base runner in the contest. Harris and Polleschultz led the Cru with two hits each while Harris led the Cru with three RBI. UMHB totaled nine runs on 10 hits with one error while the Eagles had no runs or hits with two errors.
 
Kami Flores opened game two with a perfect frame before the Cru took another 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Harris opened with a single before advancing to third on a wild pitch and scoring on a bases-loaded walk from Eggleston. Lindsey Polleschultz and Kylie Green followed that, scoring on a sacrifice fly from Taylor Holman and ensuing error. The Eagles had a runner in scoring position in the second but a double-play got UMHB out of the inning unscathed. The Cru offense exploded for five runs in the bottom of that inning for an 8-0 margin. Elissa Elliott scored on an error before Lexi Harris and Allyse Castillo reached on a double from Gutierrez. Gutierrez was the next Crusader to score, reaching on an error before Green made it home on a double from Holman for UMHB's fifth run of the frame.
 
UMHB added a single-run frame in the third when Kaitlin Powers scored on a single from Polleschultz. The Eagles got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning off a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch but UMHB got that run back in the bottom of that frame when Holman hit her second home run of the day. Emilee Wade secured the win with a perfect frame in the fifth, giving UMHB a 10-1 victory.
 
Flores threw three innings with three hits allowed and two strikeouts. Wade pitched in relief, throwing two shutout innings with one strikeout. Harris, Holman and Castillo led UMHB's offense with two hits each while Harris and Green both scored a team-high two runs. Holman led UMHB with three of the Cru's seven RBI in the contest. UMHB totaled 10 runs on 11 hits with no errors while the Eagles had one run on three hits with three errors.
 
Long joined Daphne Kahlig, Haley Parker (2) and Rebekah Ragsdale as the only Crusaders to throw a no-hitter in the Division III era of the UMHB softball program. UMHB closes the series tomorrow in a 12 p.m. contest against the Eagles at Dee Dillon Field in Belton.