BROWNWOOD, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team split a Thursday doubleheader with Howard Payne University in Brownwood, earning a 9-8 win over the YellowJackets before falling 7-3. UMHB moved to 20-15 on the season and 5-6 in American Southwest Conference action while the YellowJackets went to 8-25.
 
Howard Payne scored two first-inning runs to take a lead and added three more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-0 lead. UMHB responded in the fourth with back-to-back solo home runs from Riley Bender and Shane Melick. The Cru tacked on four more runs, scoring Trae Deck III on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, Austin Birkhoff on a bases-loaded walk, Tyler Betts on another bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and Carson Hagan on an error. 
 
Howard Payne evened the contest in the bottom of the fourth but the Cru tacked on three runs off four hits in the fifth to go back up. Betts singled to score Alejandro Sanchez III before Carson Hagan followed with a double, scoring Betts and Trae Deck. The Yellow Jackets fought back with single-run frames in the sixth and seventh but Mason Semmelmann took the mound and threw two consecutive outs to earn the save.
 
Hagan led the Cru with three hits while three other Crusaders each added two. Hagan also led with three RBI while Betts and Deck each scored two runs. James McGlumphy threw the first four innings for UMHB, giving up five earned runs. Reid Cromie threw in relief, putting in 2.1 innings of work with two earned runs allowed before Semmelmann ended it for the Cru.
 
Game two played scoreless until the third inning when Cameron Talburt hit a solo home run to put the Cru ahead. Howard Payne responded in the bottom of that frame, scoring one run on a groundout and two more on a two-RBI home run. The YellowJackets tacked on one more run in the fourth but the Cru answered in the fifth, scoring Jasson Hemmerling, Jr. on a single from Carson Hagan and Hagan on a single from Riley Bender.
 
Howard Payne shutout the Cru for the final three innings and added three more runs off a double and two solo home runs to earn the 7-3 win. Riley Bender tallied two hits while seven other Crusaders each added two. Preston Blake took the loss, throwing three innings with four hits and three runs allowed. Nicklas Fenner pitched in relief, going 3.2 innings with four runs allowed while Isaac Brann threw 1.1 shutout frames. UMHB totaled three runs on nine hits with one error while the YellowJackets had seven runs on 12 hits with no errors.
 
UMHB returns to action in the series finale tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Brownwood.