BELTON, Texas — The Southwestern University Pirates baseball team surrendered seven runs in the bottom of the third in a 17-7 loss to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders.
Mary Hardin-Baylor took advantage of a mistake in the bottom of the first, scoring the first run of the game on a Malek Bolin RBI-single to centerfield, scoring Caimyn Holiday, who reached on an error.
Southwestern took a brief lead in the second inning. Preston Witt opened the inning with a single, and after a Daniel Montgomery Jr. fly out, Jake Harris followed with another single to left-center to put two on. Landon Durdin grounded into a fielder's choice, getting Harris out at second, but Witt scored on an error.
Lance Kruse followed with a single, setting up Trent Raschke's two-RBI double to give the Pirates a 3-1 lead.
Mary Hardin-Baylor responded quickly. Brandon Madden hit an RBI sacrifice fly to right field with bases loaded, scoring Hunter Jones. Rhett Grosz scored on an error on the throw from the outfield.
Things unraveled for Southwestern in the third. The first five hitters reached for Mary Hardin-Baylor in an inning in which the Crusaders scored seven runs off six hits and two errors, highlighted by a two-RBI home run by Blake Harmon.
The Pirates added a single run in the fourth on a Maxwell Mims sacrifice fly to score Kruse, but the Crusaders scored three in the bottom of the inning, including two on wild pitches.
Witt hit a three-run blast to center field in the sixth, scoring Jacob Tanner and Mims to cut the Pirates' deficit to 13-7. Mary Hardin-Baylor responded with a Madden RBI-single and Holiday RBI-double in the sixth.
Mary Hardin-Baylor triggered the 10-run rule in the seventh. Grosz hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Mateo Calle. The Pirates walked the next three batters, loading the bases and bringing in the final run.
Witt had a productive day for the Pirates, hitting 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Kruse was 2-for-4 with two runs, and Raschke was 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
Southwestern dropped to 7-11 with the loss. Mary Hardin-Baylor improved to 9-10. Southwestern will hit the road this weekend for a three-game series against Schreiner.