ABILENE, Texas – Trailing 9-5 heading into the sixth inning, the Concordia Texas baseball team bounced back in a big way with seven runs in the sixth inning to grab a 16-9 series opening win over Hardin-Simmons Friday night at Hunter Field.
 
The Tornados racked up 17 hits and scored in double digits for the eighth time this season to move to 15-7, 8-2 ASC.
 
With the win, CTX head coach Tommy Boggs has now tied the school record for most wins by a baseball head coach with 242 wins in nine seasons.
 
Six different Tornados produced multiple hits including Carson Cox who picked up four hits in a game for the third time this season.
 
The scoring got started early, with CTX jumping out to a 4-0 lead thanks to back-to-back-to-back RBI singles from Caleb Rodriguez, Reed Carlton and Michael Evan and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Alex Britz.
 
Hardin-Simmons struck for two runs in the bottom of the second to cut the lead in half, followed by a six run outburst in the third to make the score 8-4. The Cowboys used the extra-base hit effectively in the inning, producing two homers and a double to take the lead.
 
After CTX scored a run on an RBI groundout by Britz in the fifth, HSU answered with a run of their own in the sixth to push the lead to 9-5.
 
Britz was not done, however, as he started the rally in the sixth for the Tornados with a two-RBI double down the left field line. The junior from Houston finished the day 3-for-4 with a career-high four RBIs.
 
After a Rodriguez sacrifice fly made the score 9-8, Evan put the CTX up for good with a two-RBI double down the left field line and came around to score on a double steal to cap a seven-run inning.
 
Concordia added two runs in both the seventh and ninth innings, highlighted by two separate RBI singles off the bat of Cox, to extend the lead to 16-5. Cox, a junior from Cotulla, Texas, continued his torrid pace at the plate by going 4-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored.
 
Nick Flores (1-0) made his CTX debut got his first collegiate win on the mound while Justin Traxler picked up his fourth save of the season after pitching 4.0 phenomenal innings, allowing just two hits and striking out two.
 
The series between the Tornados and Cowboys continues Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Hunter Field in Abilene, Texas.