BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team split a Saturday doubleheader with Muhlenberg College, earning a come-from-behind 11-9 win before falling 12-8 to the Mules. The Cru moved to 9-5 on the season while the Mules went to 8-6.   
 
Muhlenberg opened the day hot offensively, scoring five runs in the first two innings. The Mules put one up in the first off a sacrifice fly and added four more runs in the second frame off back-to-back home runs. Shane Melick cut the gap with a two-RBI home run in the bottom of the second. Muhlenberg answered with two more runs in the third to go back up by five before Tyler Betts doubled in the bottom of that frame, scoring Easton Cline. Cameron Talburt stole home later in the inning, cutting the Muhlenberg lead back to three.
 
Jordan Fernandez hit another home run for the Cru in the fourth inning and Shane Melick drove in another run in the fifth, scoring Tyler Betts with an RBI single to center field. Fernandez came up to bat again and doubled, scoring Riley Bender to even the game at seven. Muhlenberg responded with a two-RBI home run to go back on top but UMHB refused to go away, scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Cameron Talburt singled to score Easton Cline before Betts scored Talburt and Carson Hagan with a single to left. Melick drove in the final run, hitting a sacrifice fly to score Betts for an 11-9 Cru margin.
 
Muhlenberg put two runners on in the seventh but Mason Semmelmann got out of the jam to earn the save in UMHB's 11-9 win. Betts led the Cru with three hits while Melick and Fernandez each added two. Four different Crusaders recorded two runs each while Fernandez, Melick and Hagan each added one. Melick drove in a team-high four RBI, followed by Betts with three and Fernandez with two.
 
Bryce Farlander earned the start on the mound, throwing two innings with five runs and four hits allowed. Nicklas Fenner earned the win, putting in 4.1 innings of work with four hits and three earned runs allowed.  UMHB totaled 11 runs on 11 hits with two errors while the Mules had nine runs on eight hits with two errors.
 
Tyler Betts opened the second game with an RBI single scoring Carson Hagan in the first inning. Easton Cline followed that in the second, hitting in Jordan Fernandez with another RBI single. Marc Quarrie hit a two-RBI home run in the top of the third to even the contest for the Mules but Alejandro Sanchez III scored Riley Bender with an sac fly in the bottom of that frame to put the Cru back on top.
 
Muhlenberg tacked on two more runs off an RBI single and a sacrifice fly in the fourth, taking their first lead of game two. Jordan Fernandez scored on an error in the bottom of the inning, followed by a sacrifice fly from Bender to put UMHB back up 5-4. Shane Melick gave the Cru a pair of insurance runs with an RBI single later in that inning as UMHB entered the fifth up 7-4.
 
The Mules added one run in the fifth and UMHB mirrored that in the sixth, scoring Melick off a single from Jasson Hemmerling, Jr. Muhlenberg continued to fight back, scoring two more runs in the seventh to cut the gap to just one. The Mules evened the game at eight with a double in the top of the ninth before Quarrie hit his fourth home run of the day, this one a grand slam to put Muhlenberg on top 12-8. UMHB put runners on in the bottom of the ninth but wasn't able to bring anyone around, surrendering the win to the Mules.
 
Shane Melick led the Cru with three hits while Hagan, Fernandez and Cline each added two. Melick and Cline recorded a team-high two RBI while Hagan and Fernandez had a team-high two runs.
 
Five Crusaders combined on the mound for UMHB. Carter Kammlah got the start, pitching three innings with five hits and two runs allowed. Kammlah also struck out three in his outing. Isaac Brann added one inning with Jacob Haynes throwing three more. Mason Semmelmann and JD Gerda closed the final two frames for the Cru, giving up a combined five runs. UMHB totaled eight runs on 14 hits with two errors while the Mules had 12 runs on 15 hits with one error.
 
UMHB closed the week with a 4-2 record. The Cru returns to action in a 7 p.m. single game at Trinity University Texas on Tuesday, March 18^th. The Cru returns home in a 6 p.m. contest against Concordia University Texas on Wednesday, March 19^th.