BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team opened American Southwest Conference action with a come-from-behind win over LeTourneau University Friday in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 13-5 on the season while the YellowJackets went to 8-12.
 
Carson Hagan denied a hit in the first inning, diving for a ball in left field. The Cru put runners on in the bottom of that inning but couldn't bring any around, going into the second with a scoreless knot. UMHB denied another run when Jordan Fernandez threw out a runner at home from right field. The YellowJackets scored one run later in the frame to take a 1-0 lead.
 
LeTourneau tacked on two runs in the third before the Cru got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, scoring off a bases-loaded walk. UMHB took the game over in the fifth, putting up four runs. Riley Bender scored Carson Hagan with an RBI single before Shane Melick slammed a home run to left field, scoring Bender and Betts for a 5-3 Cru lead.
 
Mason Semmelmann threw perfect frames in the sixth and seventh innings, allowing just one base runner in the eighth. Isaac Brann threw in the ninth for the Cru, facing the minimum for the save.
 
Tyler Betts and Shane Melick led the Cru with two hits each while Melick added three RBI and a homerun, with Bender adding two runs. Semmelmann earned the win, throwing four innings with one hit allowed and seven strikeouts.
 
UMHB returns to action in a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, March 29^th.