BOX SCORE

Belton, Texas – Quinn Guest went 2-for-4 and hit a two-run single that would eventually stand as decisive hit in leading the #9 Concordia University Texas baseball team to a 7-5 victory over rival Mary Hardin-Baylor on Friday, March 30 at Red Murff Field. The Tornados remained in a tie for first place in the American Southwest Conference West Division standings with McMurry by winning their fourth consecutive game.

The scoring got started when Kyle Bieschke hit an RBI single through the right side in the top of the second. Two more runs came home when Brent Schaekel reached on a throwing error by the Crusader shortstop.

Concordia (22-6, ASC 8-2) was able to add at least one more run in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a comfortable 7-0 lead. Matt McManemin and Kyle Rodriguez, who was recently named to the D3Baseball.com National Team of the Week, each had RBI singles before Guest drove in two more.

Mary Hardin-Baylor (13-13, ASC 4-6), however, did not go down without a fight. After Seth Lynn singled in Braden Embry, Zach Crosswhite blasted a grand slam to left that made it 7-5. But the Tornado bullpen consisting of Sean Thompson, Russell Johns and Jacob Spelbring was able to completely freeze the Crusader bats and did not even all the hosts to record a hit the rest of the way.

Scott Hays picked up the victory for Concordia and improved his record to 5-1 this season. He gave up six hits and five runs, which were all earned, while fanning four and striking out two. Spelbring picked up his third save of the season by not allowing a hit over 1.1 frames. Mary Hardin-Baylor ace Chance Ryan suffered the loss after yielding 10 hits and seven runs, including five earned, in eight innings. He recorded five strikeouts and walked two.

The teams will conclude the three-game weekend series with a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m.
-agate-
#9/#17 Concordia (22-6, ASC 8-2)         030     112     000     7    12    1
Mary Hardin-Baylor (13-13, ASC 4-6)     000     000     500     5     6     1
     Concordia: Scott Hays, Sean Thompson, Russell Johns (8), Jacob Spelbring (8) and Collin Janssen.
     Mary Hardin-Baylor: Chance Ryan, Andy Evans (9), Jamie Theriot (9) and Zach Crosswhite.