MARSHALL, Texas — The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team dropped two games to East Texas Baptist University Thursday in Marshall. The Cru fell to 23-11 on the season with a 4-2 conference record, while the Tigers improved to 24-10 with a 6-0 mark in league play.
ETBU found a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning, scoring on a sacrifice fly. Landon Pyles broke through for UMHB with a three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning to give the Cru a 3-1 lead. The Tigers responded in the next frame with a two-homer inning to regain a 5-3 upper hand. Tyler Martin added a solo home run of his own in the top of the fifth.
With ETBU up 5-4 in the top of the seventh, Easton Cline launched a two-out solo home run to tie the game back up at five. The Tigers closed it out in the bottom of the seventh with a walk-off solo home run, taking the 6-5 win in game one.
The Cru put up three home runs in game one. Cameron Talburt went two-for-four with a double, while Landon Pyles led with three RBI.
The Tigers opened game two, plating three runs in the first and second innings to get out to an early 6-0 lead. UMHB bridged the gap in the fourth inning, beginning with a Nolan Williams solo home run. After back-to-back singles from Landon Pyles and Austin Birkhoff, Jacob Newland drew a walk to load the bases. Tyler Martin singled to left to score Pyles, followed by an RBI walk from Cameron Talburt and a sacrifice fly from Easton Cline, moving the score to 6-4. ETBU answered in the bottom of the frame with three runs, extending the deficit to 9-4.
Jacob Newland hit a three-run home run in the top of the fifth before ETBU added two more in the sixth, moving the score to 11-7. Talburt led off the eighth, sending a shot over the wall to add another run to the board. The Tigers scored one more in the bottom of the frame to seal the 12-8 win.
Landon Pyles and Austin Birkhoff each went two-for-five with two runs scored. Jacob Newland led the Cru in RBI, tallying three, while Cameron Talburt added two.
UMHB returns to action on Friday, April 17th, with a 2:00pm doubleheader in Marshall to continue the series against East Texas Baptist.
