ABILENE, Texas – The Concordia Texas team supplied the offense, scoring a combined 14 runs in the doubleheader, but they were unable to outlast McMurry and fell in both games of the doubleheader.
In game one, the two teams traded leads throughout the game, but a McMurry comeback was completed as they walked it off in the seventh inning. The Tornados fell 9-8 in the first game of the day.
Dalton Watts went 4-for-5 with two RBIs in the game, and
Shawn Huber picked up two hits and three RBIs.
After a scoreless first inning, Huber dealt the first blow with a bases-clearing three-RBI double, and he was bunted over to third by
Aaron Gomez to set up Watts' first RBI knock of the day. Headed into the bottom of the second, the Tornados led 4-0.
McMurry earned a pair of runs back in the bottom half with a two-run homer, cutting the lead to 4-2.
In the bottom of the third, McMury drove in three runs with a pair of doubles and took a 5-4 lead.
The Tornados answered in the top of the fifth, exploding for a four-run inning.
Sterling Stephens and Huber picked up back-to-back one-out knocks, and Gomez loaded the bases by way of fielder's choice. Watts followed with an RBI single, and
Mac Surles brought home a run on an RBI fielder's choice. Finally, Mason Dubois and
Ian Perez recorded back-to-back RBI hits, and the Tornados took an 8-6 lead.
Concordia Texas headed into the final frame with an 8-6 lead, but an RBI groundout followed by a two-RBI single walked it off for McMurry. Ultimately, CTX fell 9-8.
The series final was another tug-of-war with the lead, but McMurry took an 8-6 advantage in the seventh and held on for the win.
Stephens went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and a stolen base in the contest, and
Chris Varljen picked up an RBI hit as well.
The Tornados received multiple shutout efforts in relief, with
David Matthews, Trey Hibbets, Jared Davenport,
Brady Staedtler, and
Steven Vejil all tossing scoreless innings.
In the opening frame, the Tornados loaded the bases with walks from Gomez and Perez followed by
Kaden Kleinert reaching on a catcher's interference, and
Aaron San Miguel and
Eric Maldonado earned RBIs with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, respectively. After half an inning, the Tornados led 2-0.
In the top of the second,
Christian Padilla came home to score on a first-and-third play, extending the CTX lead to 3-0.
McMurry took the lead in the bottom of the second, plating four runs on five hits and a CTX error to bring the score to 5-3.
In the third, the War Hawks tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly, pushing the advantage to 6-3.
The Tornados' offense kicked back in the sixth inning, beginning with an RBI infield single from Varljen followed by a two-RBI single up the middle from Stephens. Heading into the seventh inning, the score was tied 6-6.
Back-to-back RBI walks gave McMurry an 8-6 lead in the bottom of the seventh, and the Tornados were unable to mount a comeback, ultimately falling in the series finale.
With the regular season at a close, Concordia Texas turns their attention to the American Southwest Conference Tournament, beginning with a quarterfinal game against UT Dallas on Thursday at 3:00 in Richardson, Texas.
