Box Score
Tyler, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball team broke open a close game with an eight-run third inning and the Cru held off a late U.T.-Tyler comeback in a 12-7 victory over the Patriots Saturday night in Tyler. UMHB improves to 3-1 on the season with the victory and the Cru knocked off U.T.-Tyler for the second time this weekend. The Patriots fall to 1-2 on the season with the loss.
U.T.-Tyler took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but the Cru answered with a four-run bottom of the second. Ryan Moreau opened the scoring with an RBI groundout and Kyle Flynn added an RBI single. Andrew White then doubled home two more runs to make it 4-1 Cru. The Patriots scored two in the third to cut the lead to 4-3 before UMHB erupted for the eight-run inning. Josh Fredrick doubled home the first run of the inning and scored on Seth Lynn’s single. Charles Oddo added a two-run single and White and Fredrick sandwiched sacrifice flies around Marshall Coots’ two-run triple to make it a 12-3 UMHB lead. The Patriots scored a single run in the top of the seventh and added three more in the top of the eighth to cut the lead to 12-7, but David Keil set down four of the five batters he faced to shut down the rally and close out the victory for the Cru.
UMHB outfielder Joseph Villegas had two hits to become the Cru’s career leader in hits. Villegas now has 210 hits in his career, breaking the previous mark of 208 set by Willard O’Neal.
White was 3-4 with three RBI for the Cru. Villegas, Fredrick, Moreau and Flynn added two hits apiece to lead a 14-hit outburst for UMHB. T.J. Martin had two of the Patriots’ eight hits in the game.
Jared Hopper earned the win for UMHB in his first appearance of the season. Hopper went six innings, scattering five hits and striking out four. Doug Vardeman took the loss for U.T.-Tyler after giving up three hits and four runs in two innings of work.
The Cru will now return home for the 2010 home opener on Tuesday. UMHB will host Trinity University for a 2:00 PM start at Red Murff Field. The Cru baseball team will also take part in Pink Zone activities to benefit breast cancer research that day.