Belton, TX - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team could not come back from late deficits in either game and the Cru closed out the 2009 season by dropping both ends of a doubleheader to Hardin-Simmons University Saturday afternoon in Belton. UMHB fell 4-2 in 10 innings in game one and then lost 6-0 in game two. The Cru finishes the season with a 20-20 overall record and a 13-11 mark in American Southwest Conference play. Hardin-Simmons improves to 30-10 overall and 21-3 in ASC play with the two victories on Saturday.
UMHB could not overcome HSU's three-run tenth inning in a 4-2 10 inning loss in game one. The Cru took a 1-0 lead on a run-scoring error in the bottom of the second inning. HSU would tie the game on Cera Beasley's RBI single in the top of the fourth. It would stay that way into the top of the tenth. With the international tiebreaker in effect, the Cowgirls took advantage of two UMHB errors to put three unearned runs on the board to take a 4-1 lead. The Cru cut it to 4-2 on Kelsey Greeson's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the tenth, but that's as close as UMHB would get. Mandy Staton took the loss for UMHB to drop to 8-9 on the season. Staton scattered seven hits and gave up just one earned run in 10 innings of work. Lacie Cole picked up the win for HSU. Sara Roman and Courtney Johnston had two hits apiece for UMHB in the loss.
The Cru then fell behind early and could not battle back in a 6-0 game two loss. Taylor Namey's solo homer gave the Cowgirls a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. HSU then added a single run in the third, two in the fifth and single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to provide the final margin. Greeson took the loss for UMHB to drop to 11-10 on the season. Erica Salazar had two of the Cru's five hits in the game.
The losses eliminate the Cru from contention for a berth in next weekend's ASC Championship Tournament. The UMHB softball team will miss the ASC Tournament for the first time in that's tournaments history. Three UMHB seniors also closed out their Cru careers on Saturday. Karen Fertitta, Joanna Johnson and Mandy Staton all played the final games of their UMHB careers in Saturday's doubleheader.
