AUSTIN, Texas – Casen Novak, Bret Leiferman, and Corbin Cross each picked up a pair of RBI, leading the way offensively for the Concordia Texas baseball team as they took the decisive series finale against Howard Payne 7-5 on Sunday.
 
Cross's two-RBI single gave the Tornados their first lead of the game, and Novak and Leiferman each delivered two-RBI base knocks in a sixth inning which saw CTX pull ahead again, holding on for a 7-5 win.
 
Michael Smith picked up his fourth win of the season out of the bullpen in three innings of work, striking out four HPU batters along the way.  
 
Howard Payne was the first team to put a number on the scoreboard after a leadoff walk came home to score on a balk, and the Yellow Jackets took a 1-0 lead in the first.
 
The score was locked at 1-0 for four innings, but the Tornados found their footing offensively in the bottom of the fifth. Ryan Clouse led off the frame with a double and Leiferman worked a two-out walk, putting two CTX runners aboard, and Cross cleared the bases with a two-RBI single to right center, giving the Tornados a 2-1 lead after five innings.
 
Howard Payne regained the lead in the following frame, picking up four runs on three hits, including a three-run homerun. Heading into the bottom half of the sixth, the Tornados trailed 5-2.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, EJ Sanchez led off by reaching base as a hit batsman and stole second, followed by Marcus Thach working a walk and Clouse picking up his second hit of the game to load the bases. Novak came through, peppering a two-strike single and bringing two runs home. Next, Brandon Goynes was hit by a pitch, once again loading the bases, and Leiferman delivered a two-RBI double, driving in the go-ahead run and giving CTX a 6-5 lead with six innings in the book.
 
The Tornados picked up an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when Chris Varljen knocked a double into the left-center gap, extending their lead to 7-5.
 
Daniel Lewis slammed the door on HPU in the ninth by retiring the side in order, and he picked up his second save of the season by tossing three shutout innings to close the game, suffering only one hit while striking out five. The Tornados won the rubber match by a score of 7-5.
 
With the pair of wins this weekend, Concordia Texas advances to a record of 16-10, 12-8 ASC on the year.  
 
The Tornados will enter the final week of the regular season, beginning with a non-conference doubleheader with Southwestern on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., hosing the Pirates a Tornado Field in Austin, Texas.