RICHARDSON, Texas – The Concordia Texas baseball team dropped the opening game of the American Southwest Conference Tournament on Thursday, falling 6-3 to Mary Hardin-Baylor after a comeback attempt fell short.
After being locked in a 1-1 tie through five innings, UMHB put together a four-run sixth inning, taking a 5-1 lead. The Tornados chipped away at the lead in the bottom half of the sixth, plating a pair of runs and bringing the score to 5-3, but they were unable to continue their comeback effort, ultimately falling 6-3.
Noah Pendergrass got the start on the hill for CTX, turning in a solid 2.1 innings of work that saw him suffer only one run on two hits and strike out three.
Mary Hardin-Baylor plated the first run of the game in the opening frame, picking up back-to-back two-out hits and taking a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom half of the first,
EJ Sanchez laced a single up the middle and eventually came around to score on a two-out RBI single from the bat of
Grayson Lee, tying the game at 1-1.
The next three innings belonged to the pitchers, as Pendergrass and
Easton Migl combined to allow no runs and only one hit. Entering the sixth inning, the score was still even at 1-1.
In the top of the sixth, UMHB strung together five hits and took advantage of a CTX error, scoring four runs and taking a 5-1 lead.
Sanchez and
Bret Leiferman started the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back singles, putting Sanchez in scoring position for
Corbin Cross's RBI single. Next, Lee picked up his second RBI of the game on a fielder's choice, chipping away at the lead and bringing the score to 5-3 after six innings.
The Cru tacked on an insurance run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly, extending their lead to 6-3.
The Tornados were held to no runs in the final three innings, and they were unable to complete a comeback effort down the stretch. At the conclusion of the game, CTX fell 6-3.
Michael Smith provided a solid outing in relief, tossing the final three frames and suffering only one run on two hits.
Concordia Texas will now face an elimination game, looking to survive and advance for the remainder of the tournament. They will square off with loser between LeTourneau and UT Dallas, who are the eight seed and the one seed, respectively. The elimination game will take place at 10:00 a.m. at UT Dallas Baseball Field in Richardson, Texas.
