BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team earned a 17-3 win over North Central College Thursday in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 10-5 on the season while the Cardinals fall to 1-2.
 
North Central opened the game with back-to-back solo home runs to left field. North Central loaded the bases but UMHB ended the threat with a strikeout and a double play to get out of the jam. The Cru scored one run in the bottom of that frame when Nolan Williams hit in Cameron Talburt with an RBI single. The Cardinals added another run in the second before Trae Deck scored on a wild pitch, pulling the Cru within one. Easton Cline drove in the equalizer later in the inning, scoring Chris Perez with an RBI single for a 3-3 tie.
 
UMHB took the lead when Nolan Williams scored on an error in the third inning. The Cru tacked on five more runs in the fourth, scoring three off a double from Riley Bender and two on a Nolan Williams home run. Williams hit another home run in the sixth inning before Tyler Martin stole home for an 11-3 lead. Jasson Hemmerling, Jr. and Braden Fuentes reached next, both scoring on an error for a ten-run margin.
 
Riley Bender tacked on another run for the Cru, scoring on a single from Hemmerling, Jr. in the bottom of the seventh. UMHB scored three more in the eighth for a 17-3 lead and held that for the win.
 
Williams went 4-for-5 with five RBI, four runs and two home runs. Cline added three hits while Talburt and Bender each added two. Talburt also tallied a team-high three runs with Cline and Bender each adding two.
 
Alex Hill earned the start on the mound, throwing six innings with three runs on seven hits allowed. Hill also struck out seven batters in the outing. Patrick Reyes, Mason Semmelmann and Jackson Keenan all pitched in relief with Semmelmann and Keenan throwing shutouts.
 
UMHB returns to action in a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Friday, March 6^th.